Desperate Measures
by Shadow Oblivion
Summary: It wasn't worth being attached to someone when they could be taken away in the blink of an eye. Law learned that the hard way, yet a certain red haired individual seemed intent on changing his mind. Modern AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wanted to try and write a story for me, to see if that will break me out of the writer's block I have on my other WIPs. I am anticipating 15 chapters for this fic, but I know with the way I write that might change later on.

Warnings: violence, blood, and swearing. Character death. Note that this is a slow burn kid x law fic (strangers to lovers trope)

Disclaimer: I own nothing from One Piece.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kid was royally fucked, though no one was around to see him in all his fucked up glory this late at night.

Not that it didn't seem like he was getting screwed over continuously most of the time, but this particular night was the worst by far in recent memory. Not only had he lost the match and his money, but he got his ass kicked in the process. Broken or bruised ribs were likely, and the punches to Kid's abdomen and other parts of his body were no doubt going to bruise, making it a bitch to move. His head was the most painful at the moment, making Kid believe he took a few knocks to the head as well. The red haired man wasn't dead, no, but he figured he must have looked like hell as he staggered along.

"Son of a bitch." Kid growled under his breath as he slowed down. The beating he had taken must have been worse than was usual, because he was beginning to feel light-headed. His vision was blurring, in any case, one eye more so than the other, and that signaled to Kid that he needed to get his ass home before he passed out right there on the sidewalk.

But where was home from here, anyway?

Kid sagged heavily against the nearest wall of a building as he blearily looked around, a scowl on his face when he realized he couldn't recognize a damn thing.

That was just the ice on the fucking cake, wasn't it?

With a low groan, Kid pushed away from the wall and continued his slow progress. Yet with every step, the pain grew until Kid could do nothing more than stop where he was and rest. Which was apparently on a sidewalk leading to someone's home, but fuck if he was gong to move again until he didn't feel like he was going to pass out. Whoever was in that house was probably asleep, anyway, and wouldn't witness Kid's stupidity due to of a series of bad decisions going to shit. Kid figured that he just needed to catch his breath and he'd be able to continue on.

Hopefully.

Kid let out a wheeze of laughter, before coughing into a hand and coming away with blood. Well, shit. That couldn't be a good sign. Kid stared at the blood on his hand and wondered if this was a sign that he should quit fighting illegally for extra cash. The extra cash he didn't have in his pocket tonight, meaning he wasn't going to be getting himself fixed up at a hospital. No, he would go home and lick his wounds, and hope that he would get well soon, so that he could try again and retake the money he desperately needed.

"Fuck." Kid wheezed out. He hadn't been this messed up in a fight in years. That son of a bitch that had kicked his ass had fought dirty, and then had proceeded to kick him while he was down.

Literally.

Kid made an attempt to steady himself on his feet, yet couldn't work up the energy to prevent himself from swaying the faintest amount. Shit, he felt like hell. No wonder no one tried to stop him when he left that underground arena. No one likely expected him to get very far, and what would have been done to his unconscious body was something Kid would rather not dwell upon. He had made it a fair distance from where he had been fighting that night, and as soon as he could figure out where he was, he would get going. Or make a call to Killer, though the idea of another scolding lecture made Kid reconsider the idea.

"You're in the way."

Kid tensed up at the sound of a voice cutting through the haze that was his mind. The red haired man wanted to tell the unknown individual off, but considering the fact that he couldn't even raise his head, Kid knew he was in trouble. His body wasn't responding to him, and that was never a good sign. Apparently the other man didn't notice anything amiss, because he spoke again, voice heavy with sarcastic ire.

"I've had a long night, and I'd appreciate getting into my house."

Kid couldn't even work up the energy to laugh at this point, and instead did the next best thing to show his displeasure at being harassed while he felt like shit. Kid fell over sideways, vaguely wondering what the man was going to do about him further blocking the way as the red head passed out.

-x-

Trafalgar Law had not expected to find an injured and now unconscious man practically on his doorstep. It was most inconvenient that the red haired man in question was in fact sprawled across his sidewalk, as that meant Law would have to either go around him or over him. It was not something he was prepared to deal with, especially not with the warning he'd received minutes ago still ringing in his ears.

'You're going to have to pay up, and soon, doc. You had your extension; it's time to settle your debts. Don't think he won't come after you if you don't settle with him this time. No more delays.'

"You're still in my way." Law commented aloud, as if the wounded man could hear him.

Naturally, there was no response.

The dark haired doctor let out a slow breath before he stepped forward to carefully crouch down next to the red haired man to check him over. Damn Law's instincts to want to help someone who was hurt, even when it was painfully clear from the sore spot on his back that he wouldn't be in much better condition if he didn't do as he was asked.

"You had better not have left a blood trail." Law murmured crossly to the unconscious man, trying to cover up the discomfort of having a gun jammed to his back as the threat from before was delivered to him. The doctor didn't want any unsavory and potentially illegal things being brought to his doorstep after that unfortunate encounter, though considering the shape the red haired man was in, it could very well be likely that he was being followed.

"If I die from something I'm not involved in, I'll come back and haunt you." Law grumbled in a dead kind of voice, as he took in and mentally listed the man's injuries. From what Law could see, the red head had taken quite a beating, which was most certainly the reason why he had collapsed. One cheek was bruised up, and the left cheek had a long gash that went dangerously close to an eye. The tank top the man was wearing was torn in several different places, and one leg of the pants was torn and bleeding near the knee. Potential concussion, and perhaps a sprained left wrist. Law lifted his head to look around, and seeing no one else in the vicinity, frowned as he weighed his options. The doctor knew that he could call the police and let them deal with the stranger on his sidewalk, or Law could bring the man into his home to treat his injuries.

"Get up." Law muttered as he made the decision to take the man into his home. It was a long-shot, but the dark haired doctor kind of hoped that the other man was a bodyguard, because Law had a feeling he was going to need one of those soon. The memory of a gun pressed to his back was fresh, and one that Law could do without experiencing again. It didn't even matter to Law that the red head looked like he had gotten the shit beaten out of him either. The doctor was getting desperate, and there were very few people he would trust to watch his back. Law didn't want to risk his friends being drawn into his problems, so if he needed to help someone in order to get their help in return, the dark haired doctor would do so. It really was unfortunate that Law had run out of time and was going to have to settle his debts soon, one way or another.

Therefore, having a bodyguard around would help to ensure that nothing went wrong when it came time for that debt to be collected, as there might be a bit of a problem with the price Law knew that he had to pay.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Updates likely to be slow due to trying to work around writer's block.


	2. Chapter 2

Law stared down at the unconscious red head, and decided that he was an idiot for not considering how heavy the other man was. The red haired man most certainly outweighed the doctor, and that didn't surprised Law in the least bit, from how muscular the red head was. It was a problem, because this meant that Law couldn't help the red head into his house. Law thought to try and rouse the man to get him to move himself, but that had failed apart from a faint groan here and there.

"Wake up." Law muttered to the man again, "I am not going to try to drag you into the house."

Again, there was no response to Law's words.

With a light sigh at the way his night was going, Law fished his cell phone out of a pocket, and opened up his list of contacts. Law's finger hovered over a number that he used to call often, but now only did so intermittently. Shaking his head and banishing the reasons over why, Law hit the name listed as Zoro-ya and waited to see if the other man would pick up. While it was late, Law had no doubt that the man would answer if he heard it and saw who the call was from. The only awkward thing would be if-

' _Law? Why the hell are you calling at this time of day?'_

"Sanji." Law greeted in a neutral kind of way. It was not the voice that the dark haired man had wanted to hear. Law had known that Zoro was seeing someone else, so really, he shouldn't have been surprised that someone else had answered the green haired man's phone. "I could have sworn that I had called Zoro-ya. I don't suppose I could speak with him?"

Law heard muffled voices on the other end of the line, and what sounded suspiciously like Sanji letting out an indignant yelp. Before Law could say anything, Zoro's voice came over the line, an edge of sleep to it, but otherwise completely alert.

' _Is something wrong? It's 2 in the morning.'_

"I came home to find someone passed out on my sidewalk." Law began, trying hard to not dwell on the genuine concern in the other man's voice. Law was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. "I'm going to treat his injuries but I've run into an issue. He's too heavy for me to get into the house on my own." Law knew that the long silence meant that Zoro was processing his words, and Law couldn't help but smirk faintly at the thread of exasperation that had entered the police officer's voice.

' _You really need to stop doing this, Law, even if we do all appreciate how you helped Luffy and Ace.'_ Zoro let out a sigh, _'I know you won't take no for an answer once your mind's made up, and I can't change your mind either, so I'll come over in about 15 minutes.'_

"If it's not too much trouble." Law heard Sanji say something, but couldn't quite make it out, though he could hazard a guess as to the other's words. With a faint, self-deprecating smile, Law added aloud, "Why don't you bring Sanji along? I think that will help get him to realize that this isn't some rendezvous where you cheat on him with an ex." Law wondered if Zoro had hung up due to the long stretch of silence that followed, before the doctor heard Zoro's voice again.

' _Does he actually think that could happen? He knows we're not together anymore, so there's no need to be so suspicious.'_

"Why do you think he answered your phone?" Law couldn't help but smile at Zoro's matter of fact tone, even if it did feel like a punch to the gut how sure the man was that nothing would happen between them again. Not that anything would happen, but it still hurt to have the reminder.

"I asked him to hand the phone to me."

"And yet he answered it when he saw that it was me who was calling?" Law didn't blame Sanji for being suspicious; anyone in their right mind would wonder why anyone would walk away from a relationship with Zoro.

'… _We'll be over there in 30 minutes.'_

"Do make sure neither of you become incapable of walking in that extra 15 minutes, even though I doubt you would need anyone's help moving someone into the house. You could do it on your own." Law said wryly.

' _And_ you _make sure that no one followed this guy. I don't want to get to your house and find a murder scene.'_

"Highly doubtful but I'll do my best to make sure you just have to lug this idiot into my house." Law replied, taking note of the serious tone in the green haired officer's voice. The phone line cut out, and Law felt that a half hour was more than sufficient to set things up to tend to the red haired man's wounds. But Law, looking around the empty streets in front of his house, and hearing the general quiet and stillness of the area, made him rethink the plan. Law was reluctant to leave the red haired man lying alone for a period of time, however short, especially if there was a chance of someone following after him or attempting to track him down, for whatever reason.

With a frown, Law opted for a closer inspection of the other man's injuries so that he could advise Zoro on how to move the red head. Law's first assumption that the man may have a concussion stood, along with the general battered appearance that included the bloodied cheek and the injured leg. The ma's left wrist appeared more swollen than the right, and upon close inspection, Law found a puncture like wound on the man's left side. Law assumed that it had been an injection of some kind. The dark haired doctor wasn't entirely sure what it would have done until the red haired man had woken, but Law figured that he could make some guess when the other man did wake. In the time it took Law to inspect the red haired man's wounds, the doctor had begun to rethink the whole taking the stranger to the hospital idea when a car suddenly pulled into his driveway, and two men exited it.

Law found it amusing that Zoro looked like he still had just woken up, what with his messy green hair and pajama pants. A tank top looked to have been pulled on haphazardly, no doubt something that Sanji had insisted upon. Speaking of the blond, Sanji was the complete opposite of Zoro in appearance. The man was wearing slacks and a button up shirt, and it looked as if his blond hair had been fussed with to one side. In short, Sanji looked completely put together at what the fuck 'o clock in the morning

"That was quick. I don't suppose you saw anyone suspicious lurking around on your way here?" Law's words fell on deaf ears as Zoro and Sanji almost simultaneously came to a halt, their eyes on the red head on the ground. Law hummed softly at the sight. It seemed as though the other two men knew the identity of the on the ground, if their reaction was anything to go by, and Law was proven correct.

"Why is Eustass Kid unconscious on your sidewalk?" Sanji asked, taking a cautious step forward to look the man over, though he looked as if he expected the other to be feigning unconsciousness.

"Who?" The name was unfamiliar to Law.

"He's Nami's mechanic. Works on her motorcycle and that scooter she uses to get around town." Sanji supplied, his posture relaxing once it became apparent that the red head, Kid, was merely going to continue to lie motionless on the ground.

"I think he may have been mugged." _Just as I was threatened._ Law thought to himself, but kept quiet as Zoro came to kneel alongside him and look Kid over, one hand reaching out to take Kid's as he turned the limb over this way and that.

"Looks like he's been in a fight." Zoro said at length, as he indicated Kid's bloody knuckles beneath the bandages wrapped around them. "It wasn't one sided, so even if it was a mugging, he fought back."

Law pointed out the puncture mark on Kid's left side. "A fight that involves sticking someone with a needle?" The doctor glanced up in time to see Sanji frown down at Kid, but the blond said nothing, and instead looked as if he were deep in thought as he fished around for something in his pocket.

"Might as well get him inside." Zoro said. "If you're going to insist on trying to help him." Zoro turned his head to look at Law. "You know I can't cover for you if something comes from this, right?"

"I know." Law wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize Zoro's job as police officer, so that was why he merely wanted assistance bringing Kid into house. Then, Zoro could get on with his life, and not get tangled up in the shitstorm that was about to become Law's life if he didn't think fast how to cover his debts he could no longer delay.

"Law?"

"I'll get the supplies ready." Law said in reply, shaking away the what-if's.

"You sound like you're going to operate on him here." Sanji stepped back toward the car as he produced a lighter and cigarette, and lit it. "Why not just have him taken to the hospital?"

"I have my reasons. And if I think he really needs to be in the hospital, I'll drive him there myself." Law noted the hard look Zoro gave him at that but the doctor merely gave a minute shake of his head, not wishing to elaborate. If Law gave even a hint that he had been threatened, the doctor knew that he would get a certain duo of troublemakers in his home and that was something he wished to avoid. Law held Zoro's gaze, waiting. Law still wasn't quite sure why dating Zoro for a time meant that the other man's friends adopted Law as a friend, and continued to see the doctor as a friend even after Law and Zoro had parted mutually. It baffled Law's mind.

Much to Law's immense relief, the other man didn't pursue the topic further and merely began to lever Kid up. Even with the silence, Law knew that he couldn't keep mum about things forever, but for now decided to focus on the present issue at hand. Law went to open the door of his house, but paused to give Sanji a sharp look when the blond made as if to follow him. "Put that cigarette out before you enter my house." Not bothering to look and see if Sanji had listened, Law went in search of the medical supplies that he believed he would need. The only unknown factor at this point in time was whatever had been injected into Kid's body.

It was going to be a long night, Law decided, when Zoro finally got the red haired man into the house and onto the bed in the guest room. And it wasn't because of tending to Kid's wounds. That type of thing was so routine to Law that he barely had to think about it anymore. No, what made the night look longer was because Zoro had waited until Law was immersed in his work to spring the question on him.

"So who is after you now? You're favoring your back when you lean over."

"It's nothing." Law uttered tonelessly, but the damage was done from the sight of a cell in Zoro's hand. The surgeon raised his eyes to meet Zoro's, and Law offered a dark look as he took a step toward Zoro. "Don't. There's no need for that."

"Sanji?" Zoro asked as he started scrolling through something on his phone. "Don't let him interfere."

"Zoro-ya, I really don't think that's necessary…hey!" Law was jerked back from Zoro, his arms twisted behind his back by Sanji. Law couldn't get any leverage with the way the blond held him, so he was forced to watch Zoro call one of the few people Law didn't want him to. The doctor knew that there would be no way he could prevent someone from getting hurt if they interfered with the debt he owed to Doflamingo.

There was a long moment of silence before anything was said.

"Hey, Ace." Zoro paused. "No, it's important, otherwise I wouldn't have called so early in the morning." Another pause. "Can you grab Luffy and come over to Law's, then? I think he's gotten himself into trouble again."

Oh no.

"No, he won't say what it is. Yeah. Sure. See you soon. Don't get lost."

Nononono.

This was exactly what Law didn't want to happen. He didn't want anyone involved in the hole he'd dig himself into by being indebted to Doflamingo. Law slumped within Sanji's grip, the fight in him gone. The moment Luffy involved himself in Law's business meant that Luffy and everyone else who chose to try and help would be in danger. The doctor knew that Doflamingo wouldn't be choosy about taking care of people who prevented Law from paying his debt. Now more than ever Law felt that he needed a bodyguard, and since Zoro was most certainly out of the question, Law could only hope that Kid, a mechanic, apparently, could perhaps fulfill that role.

"What…the fuck?" Said red head chose that moment to awaken, and immediately rolled off the bed with a muffled curse and groan. "The hell…where?"

Lovely.

Now not only did Law have to deal with a certain straw hat loving individual hell bent on helping him because they were 'friends' but now Law had to deal with one wounded and quite possibly drugged up Eustass Kid.

Kid, meanwhile, lurched up off of the floor, swayed, and managed to get his sight locked onto Law. "The fuck did you take me?"

Law ended up not answering that, because the red head's knees had buckled out from underneath him, sending Kid to his hands and knees, where he abruptly threw up.

Joy.

It appeared as though Kid was having a reaction to whatever was in his system.

It certainly did look as though was going to be a long night.

Luckily for the red head, Law had a suspicion what he had been injected with, and happened to have the antidote on hand to counteract it. But it was going to be a pain to get the other man to take it, as it had to be drunk, not injected, and what with the way Kid was trying to right himself despite how shitty he ought to be feeling, Law wasn't looking forward to trying to get the man to drink the antidote.

"Make sure he doesn't hurt himself." Law directed to Zoro and Sanji, "I'll be right back. He's having a reaction to whatever was injected into his body." As Law exited the room, he couldn't help but overhear Sanji speaking to Zoro in a disbelieving tone.

"And you dated him? What is wrong with him? Kid obviously needs medical assistance, and now. Why aren't we taking him to a hospital?"

"There's nothing wrong with Law. He's a little unorthodox, yeah, but he's still a doctor and knows what he's doing."

Law would be lying if he didn't feel slightly pleased at the compliment Zoro paid him as he rummaged around in a cabinet. The feeling faded upon the realization that Zoro was likely defending him as a friend, and that stung just a little, even if the decision to split had been mutual. Law located the antidote after a few moments of listing symptoms through his head, and reentered the bedroom to find both Zoro and Sanji on the floor next to Kid, who appeared to have given up tying to get up.

"Get him into a seated position." Law said, letting himself slip into the state of mind he needed to be in when at the hospital. He watched the red head being propped up against the bed, Kid's head lolling against the side of the bed. Sanji and Zoro moved out of the way so that Law could kneel next to Kid, and, once he'd made eye contact with a pair of baleful amber eyes, spoke.

"I need you to take this. Someone injected something into your bloodstream earlier tonight. It's what's making your body react like this."

"'m fine. Fuck off." Kid slurred, hand coming up to brush the bottle away. The red head sagged against the bed further, mumbling nonsense, and apparently disregarding Law's presence.

"Drink it." Law said darkly, in no mood for this.

There was no response from Kid other than a faint groan of discomfort.

Shaking his head, Law opened the bottle, downed the liquid and held in in his mouth. With quick precision, Law leaned over Kid, forced his jaw open with one hand, and pressed his lips to the other man's, determined to get the antidote in him one way or another.

Kid made some faint sound of protest, hand reaching up to shove at Law's shoulder, before the red head shuddered and let his hand drop, letting out another, softer sound against Law's lips. Kid made a disgruntled sound once the antidote was in his mouth, but there wasn't much to do but let Law transfer it to him.

Law drew away once he was satisfied that Kid had swallowed most of the antidote, and merely raised a brow at the dumbstruck look on Kid's face. Law turned and saw a similar look on Sanji's face, sans the open mouth, and then glanced at Zoro, who appeared to be amused and merely offered a shrug at Law's questioning look.

"What?" Shaking his head at the other men and their lack of a response, Law turned and exited the guest bedroom. He needed to go gather some more medical supplies before he could finish tending to Kid's wounds. With the antidote taken care of, treating the rest of Kid's injuries would be no problem.

-x-x-x-

Had Law looked back, he would have seen an interested look come over the red head's face, before Kid groaned and let his head sag back against the side of the bed, a low sigh accompanying whispered, barely there words.

"Fuck me."

What had that been about? One minute Kid had been puking his guts out, and then the next, the guy from outside saying he'd been in the way was in his space. And talk about a hell of a way to get someone to take medicine, locking lips with them and forcing them to drink it. And the look that man had given Kid when he had drawn away, like he thought Kid was an idiot.

"How fast does the antidote work?"

Kid blinked, and then withheld a groan, this time one of annoyance. He had to have had the worst luck in the world. Kid recognized the voice, and was already trying to think of what he would say to a cop. How to explain his battered appearance as something not due to illegal activities. It made the red haired man nauseous trying to think of something, or perhaps it was the pain he was in. Soon, Kid felt like he was going to throw up again, and that was when a voice sounded sharply next to his ear.

"Don't you dare. I cannot waste all of those antidotes because you can't hold it down and let it work."

The guy from before was back, and when Kid managed to lift his head to look the man in the eyes, he was met with a cool glare of golden eyes. The red haired man blinked, trying to focus on the man's next words, but instead, his stomach clenched and Kid let out an uncomfortable whine. Like hell he could keep it down. It felt like when he'd had too much alcohol to drink and he needed to…

"I don't think he can hold it in, Law."

"You're a doctor, what do you usually do in cases like this?"

A doctor? Well, it seemed Kid lucked out in that aspect, thought the guy had to have had a few screws loose, because next thing Kid knew, two hands had seized either side of his head and Kid was forced to look into the doc's pissed off expression. Kid blinked, wondering if…

"Look at me. Try and focus. Did you hear what I just said?"

Kid tried, he really did, but he was in too much pain from the beating body had taken, and being manhandled by the doctor kind of put Kid over the edge in what he could process.

"Mr. Eustass?"

Kid blinked at Law as he realized the other man had knelt down in front of him at some point. Kid clumsily waved the doctor's hands away from his face, before he promptly pitched forward and fell against Law, knocking the dark haired man over and onto the floor. Kid could only hope he didn't throw up all over the doctor, because Kid kind of liked the idea of not being kicked to the curb and left to the mercy of those assholes that had gotten the better of him earlier that night.

"Need some help, Law?"

Someone in the room was far too amused with the situation, and Kid was kind of glad he passed out when he did. If only because his current state wasn't the kind of image Kid wanted to present. Thought why it even mattered was something Kid would have to dwell on later, when he didn't feel complete like complete and utter shit.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: I found inspiration while I was at the grocery store for some reason, but I'll take it, as it helped me write a longer chapter. There is a reason this fic is going to be a slow burn, and Law is one of the reasons because he is going to be a little oblivious to Kid's eventual attraction. (also, medical inaccuracies are likely to occur in this fic, including Law's supply of medical items in his home-I'm just writing with minimal research so that I can try and get into the flow of writing regularly again).


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Quick note for character ages in this fic. I'm going to go with canon ages for the most part for secondary characters, but consider the straw hats, Ace, Kid and Law about two to three years older than post time skip canon. I don't think it will really matter for this story, but I'm leaving that here just in case people wondered where I pictured them age-wise in this fic.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Law had hoped that by Kid collapsing on him that he would be able to delay seeing Luffy and Ace enter his home. The dark haired doctor honestly didn't want to spill his guts to anyone about his troubles. Law knew that if he got cornered by the two brothers, with Zoro still around, he would be unable to keep silent.

"Need some help getting him back on the bed?" Zoro questioned from across the room.

The offer dashed Law's hope that he could feign not wishing to disturb his patient when in reality he wanted to avoid being bombarded with questions by overly helpful Luffy. Law glanced down at the unconscious Kid sprawled across his waist, snoring a little. The dark haired doctor let out a sigh. He wasn't a stranger to being knocked over by unruly patients, but this was a first. Law had never been knocked over by someone fainting onto him. Out of curiosity, Law grabbed a handful of the ridiculous red hair before him and gave it a light tug.

"Hey, get off of me." Law knew he shouldn't have expected a response by now, since when Kid was out he stayed out, oblivious to the world around him. Law stared down at the hair loosely clutched in his hand, and discovered that, while he found the red hair absurd, that it was surprisingly soft. Law abruptly let go of Kid's hair, a faint pang of regret sweeping through him as he recalled Zoro's tendency to run a hand through his hair when they were both resting.

"Law?"

"Yes, if you would." Law responded, remembering Zoro's question. "He's too heavy for me to move on my own, as I told you earlier." Law eased himself out from beneath Kid's sprawled body, and watched as Zoro easily maneuvered the muscular red head back onto the bed. Law was about to make sure that Kid hadn't done anything to his nearly sprained hand when the doctor heard the sound of the front door being slammed open, followed by a loud voice calling out.

"Hey! Law! Where are you?"

Law seriously considered crawling under the bed despite how undignified it would be, but Zoro seemed to have sensed his thoughts before he could act upon them, and a firm grip was suddenly around the doctor's nearest wrist. Law met Zoro's eyes, and despite the fact that Law was settling into a faint panic that tended to result from Luffy's company, he glowered at Zoro and tried to free his hand.

"Let go, Zoro-ya." Law didn't get a chance to say anything else, because a person sporting a red t-shirt and blue jeans with a straw hat jammed on his head appeared in the doorway. Law transferred the glower from the green haired policeman to the new nuisance that had appeared. "I don't remember giving you a key to my house, Luffy-ya."

"Zoro gave us a spare." The teenager, Luffy, smiled in the face of Law's frigid glare. "So, come on, Ace is in the living room. We're gonna figure out what the problem is, and then kick whoever's ass it is that caused it."

Law opened his mouth to tell Luffy that he had to stop watching so many movies; that it wasn't that simple. No one could just go beat someone up to solve a problem. It was absurd. But Law didn't get a chance to say anything, because Luffy had seized the wrist Zoro suddenly let go of, and Law found himself unwillingly half dragged to the living room. Luffy's older brother, Ace, lounged on one of the chairs in the room, looking completely at ease. Law grumbled under his breath as Luffy tugged him over to the nearest chair facing the rest of the furniture in the living room, and gently shoved the doctor down onto it. Law let out a weary sigh as he hit the furniture, and considered the pros and cons of sliding off of it onto the floor and curling up into a ball. On one hand, he might avoid conversation, but on the other hand, everyone present would know that something was wrong. So, Law settled for slumping in the chair and giving in to the inevitable questions that were sure to come.

"You look like shit, Law."

Law raised a brow at Ace, looked the older brother up and down, and couldn't help but smile faintly. "And it looks like you forgot what a shirt is."

"Hey, I'm wearing a jacket, aren't I?" Ace laughed the frown Law gave him then. "And I always have pants or shorts on, unlike one of Luffy's other friends."

"Law, what's wrong? What's going on?" Luffy was suddenly standing right in front of Law, in his space, and disregarding conversation about his brother's choice in clothing "Whose ass do I need to kick?"

Law made a face at Luffy jumping straight into the problem at hand, but he refused to give in so easily. The less anyone else knew the better. Law knew he shouldn't involve anyone else, because no good would come from it. Law couldn't let himself become attached to any of Zoro's friends. Still caring for the green haired officer was bad enough, but if Law were to care for anyone else, and be remotely concerned about what might happen to them, the doctor hated to think what could happen to them. Especially if they insisted on involving themselves in his troubles that even he couldn't handle on his own.

"I can't say." Law said quietly. "It's not anything you need to worry about." Law heard footsteps approach him, and knew who it was even before he hallf turned in the chair to meet Zoro's eyes. Law dropped his gaze to his lap, but under the scrutiny of Zoro staring at him quietly while both Luffy and Ace watched him expectantly, the doctor tried again to dissuade them all, despite knowing that it was useless.

"I was…approached tonight about something…but that was it. I'm home, aren't I?" Law knew it was a vague explanation, and that none of the other men in the room were going to dismiss it as something to not be concerned with. And with a quick peek around the room, Law was proven correct in his assumption because no one looked convinced that it was nothing.

"Is whatever happened why you were favoring your back earlier?" Zoro asked quietly.

"…yes." Law didn't know why Zoro still affected him so, because he knew that there would never be anything between them again. But still, Law couldn't help but give the other man details, but he wasn't a fool. He was careful to avoid giving specific details. "I…I was confronted earlier, and someone had had a gun to my back. They hit me with it, or their fist, I can't say which now, and that made me fall to the ground. They left after that."

"That sure doesn't sound like nothing. Show me where." Zoro demanded, seizing Law's nearest hand and encouraging the doctor to stand up. "I'll document it, in case legal action can be taken in the future."

Law thought about arguing, but as soon as Zoro let go of his hand, the doctor's shoulders slumped. Aware of Sanji's eyes on him from across the room, Law about-faced and tugged his shirt up. He was so exhausted and desperately needed sleep. But between everyone trying to get him to spill the beans, and the threat he had received lingering in his mind, Law highly doubted that he was going to be getting any sleep any time soon. Law stilled at the sensation of fingertips lightly brushing his skin. The dark haired doctor closed his eyes, feeling foolish for enjoying the touch despite it not meaning what he hoped it would. Zoro was merely checking to see if there was an injury of some kind, and Law figured he must have had a mark from the gun being jammed against his back, because when the touch retreated, there was the sound of a photo being taken.

"Do you think you can identify the people that did this? Did you get a look at them? What did they say to you?"

"I didn't see them. They had come up from behind." It wasn't true, but Law didn't want to raise the alarm more than it already had been. "It was all so sudden, so I can't tell you if the voices were familiar or not. It was…regarding a debt I owe."

"We should go beat them up!"

"Beat who up, Luffy? Law just said he didn't see who they were." Ace seized his younger brother by the back of his shirt and tugged him back down onto the couch near where he was seated.

"We go after their boss. Duh. That's who would tell someone to go tell Law to pay his debts back, right?" Luffy made as if to get up again, like he was ready to go then and there, despite the fact he had a class to go to the next day.

"No, Luffy-ya. You will do no such thing. Even if you could get to the 'boss', as you put it, there is no legal ramification to go after him." Law shook his head as he stared down at his hands. "There isn't a way to pursue a legal course of action, because there is no proof. Only my word against his, and at this point, I can easily be dismissed. There's no record of the debts I owe other than words spoken years ago. Unless I have something to back up those words, there's no getting to him."

"Who is it?" This came from Sanji, who finally seemed to take some interest in the conversation.

"Doflamingo." Law said without thinking, taken aback with the serious way Sanji had asked his question.

While Sanji got a look of concentration of his face, both Ace and Luffy looked surprised at the name. Zoro looked concerned and a little upset.

"Was this debt something you owed...before we had even got together?"

"...Yes...I had been successful in delaying payment of the debt up to that point." Law couldn't meet Zoro's eyes now, because the doctor knew what the next question would be.

"Is it the reason you wanted to split up?" Zoro was closer, and his voice had dropped into a whisper.

"I couldn't involve you and your friends if something went wrong in the future. I got myself into it; I shouldn't drag anyone down with me when Doflamingo comes to collect the debt." The dark haired doctor winced as Zoro gripped him by the shoulders and forced Law to look him in the eyes.

"Idiot! Whether or not we stayed together wouldn't have changed the fact that all of us would have tried to help you. And we're going to now, so don't you block us out like you did after we went our separate ways."

Law stared at Zoro for a long moment, not used to such outbursts from the normally calm and collected officer. Law could only nod his head before Zoro would let go of him and step back.

"I can look into this, Law. There have been a lot of rumors flying around the city about Doflamingo, and talk of a criminal investigation..."

"No, Zoro-ya." Law cut the officer off, hating the idea of Zoro having anything to to with the older man. It wasn't something Law wished on anyone, and just images of those who had attempted to help him in the past was more than enough reason to continue to try and dissuade Zoro and his friends.

"I think I know more about Doflamingo than everyone else in this room does, and he is not a man you want to make an enemy of. You don't know what he is capable of." Law ran his hands through his hair, his eyes briefly closing. "You don't want to get involved in this."

"Then you give me updates." Zoro said after a silence had stretched on a bit too long. "And in the meantime, I don't want you to be alone. Luffy and Ace are going to stay here with you in case someone else tries to jump you."

It was as Law had thought; that was the other reason that Zoro had called Ace. Of course none of them wanted Law to be alone, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to put up a fight.

"You two are not staying in my house." The dark haired doctor said flatly to the brothers. "My pantry and fridge won't survive. And-"

"Law."

The dark haired doctor looked away from Ace and Luffy and with a hint of dread turned his attention back to Zoro. The moment they locked eyes, Law could feel his resolve weakening. Or he could have just been breathless, because Zoro had leaned over him again so that he could bring himself face to face with Law.

"I don't want anything to happen to you. I've heard some stories about Doflamingo, so I get it." Zoro narrowed his eyes. "But since you know more about the man, then you know that he would probably be the kind of person to have you kidnapped in order to settle a debt, whatever that may be."

"But I can-"

"I don't want to see the news or hear something over the radio about you suddenly going missing out of the blue, so that is why Ace and Luffy are here."

"…All right." Zoro was too close to him, and Law was all too aware of the familiar longing that didn't seem to have left him yet.

A cell phone went off in the quiet of the room.

"I have to take this." Zoro headed toward the front door, fishing out his cell phone as he did.

Law took this as the perfect opportunity to escape, seeing as everyone else was distracted by the sudden call, and made it to the kitchen without incident. Law felt that now was a good a time as any to offer Kid some water and see if he could keep it down. If the red haired man was awake, that is. Law also needed to come to terms with the idea of living in the same house as the pair of brothers, and shuddered to think of what trouble they could get themselves in to. They weren't children, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't do something stupid and Law would have to pay for any damages incurred during their stay.

Perhaps it would be best to send them on their way when Zoro left his house...

"Are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Zoro? Because it sure looked like you think there is."

Law inwardly groaned. Great, just what he didn't need.

"There's nothing going on." Law said lamely, because he couldn't think of anything to say that would convince Sanji, "I just forget that he'll get too close sometimes when he is talking to you." Seeing Sanji frown mistrustfully, Law added, "You know how he worries about his friends. So that's all it is. Nothing more." The dark haired doctor was relieved when Sanji stepped aside to let him out of the kitchen, but Law knew he had a long way to go to convince the blond to be less suspicious of his and Zoro's relationship as friends and not as lovers.

"The guest room is currently occupied by a patient I'm seeing to. You'll have to find somewhere else to sleep tonight." Law commented as he passed through the living room.

"We can sleep on these couches tonight, Law." Luffy responded, flopping onto one of the couches. "Stop trying to kick us out."

"Wait at least a week before trying to get us to leave." Ace added. "We're going to go grocery shopping in the morning, by the way, so don't worry about us eating your food."

Law glowered at the pair of them before he turned away and continued on toward the guest room with a glass of water. Law came to an abrupt halt when Zoro appeared by his side and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Law took a short breath and let it out when he noticed that Zoro had gripped his shoulder firmly, and Law had to shoo away the lusty thoughts that used to come with that kind of a grip from the police officer. Zoro was merely trying to get his full attention.

"Zoro-ya?" The officer most certainly had his attention, as Law desperately tried to ignore the faint interest that stirred in his body. It would just figure if he got a hard on and Sanji happened to see it. That would make things infinitely harder to convince the blond that there was nothing going on.

"Don't forget to give me updates, all right?" Zoro reminded the doctor, clearly not aware that his grip was causing Law to go through mental and physical turmoil, "And if there are any more threats, don't try and hide it."

"…I will." Law couldn't say anything else with the way Zoro had his hand on him, and felt that he would have agreed to anything else the officer had asked of him at this point. But as soon as Zoro let go of him, and Law saw Sanji give him another narrow-eyed look on his way to the front door, the doctor felt guilty. Law watched the two men leave his house, and as soon as the door closed, Law let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Turning back toward the guest room, Law adjusted himself with a low growl. He really needed to get over Zoro, as they'd been apart for over half a year. Law needed to move on with his own life. Even if that life involved no dating for the time being. Law couldn't afford to become invested in anyone right now. Especially not after the threat that had been delivered to him about his debt.

"You should get some sleep too, Law. It's three in the morning."

Law raised his free hand to acknowledge Ace's words, before the dark haired doctor opened the door to the guest room and entered. Law absently closed the door behind him, as his thoughts were beginning to shift back to the debt he owed. Law approached the bed, and set the glass of water on the nightstand, as soon as he saw that Kid was still fast asleep. The longer Law stared down at Kid, the more the doctor considered sending the red haired man on his way once Kid was well enough to move on his own. Law really didn't wish to involve people in his troubles, and the doctor now knew that he couldn't involve Kid in his troubles too, since he now had Zoro and his friends to worry about. Besides, based on how Law had found him, Kid seemed to have some troubles of his own.

"What were you doing?" Law muttered to the sleeping red head. The dark haired doctor felt that he would have to be desperate to try and convince a stranger to help him. Perhaps Law would track Kid down through Nami at some point, but that would only happen if Law was left with no other options. And on that depressing note, Law hoped that he wouldn't ever have disclose the details of his debt to Zoro or any of his friends, because then none of them would even think to let the doctor out of their sight.

"I'm sorry." Law murmured aloud, mainly to Zoro, because he had dated him, and therefore made the man care about him. That the green haired officer continued to care about him, as a friend, made Law's gut clench.

Trying to tell someone that you yourself were the payment for the debt was not something that would go over easily. Law had chosen to place his trust in the wrong person, and now, years later, he was going to have to pay for it. His freedom would be ripped away from him, and he'd end up Doflamingo's pet doctor, doing whatever the man wished of him, and the possibilities made Law sick to his stomach.

Law sat down hard on the nearest chair as the implications of what could happen hit him. Law drew his legs up on the seat as well, and wrapped his arms around his legs as he pressed his face against his knees.

It hadn't been a fair.

It was a terrible gamble to have made in the first place, but at the time, Law hadn't realized that Doflamingo enjoyed playing dirty and twisting words around. Law's hope had been riding on Rocinante, Doflamingo's younger brother, to help him get out of the money debt from Doflamingo that had been used for Law's college education. So not only did Law owe money now that he was a doctor and working, but he also had Rocinante's debt to pay as well.

The cell phone in his pocket went off, and Law uncurled from the chair, grateful for a distraction from his past and his foolishness in accepting promises without seeing everything written out so he would have know what he was getting himself in to. With a quick glance to ensure that Kid was still asleep, Law drew out his phone to answer it and regretted doing so immediately the moment he heard who was on the other line.

' _Hello, Law. Did you get my message?'_

Doflamingo.

Law felt a little ill, unable to respond to the voice that often haunted his dreams, but Doflamingo didn't seem to mind as he continued to speak.

' _I'm sure by now that you have enough money to pay me back, but do you recall what the payment is for your other debt?'_

Law closed his eyes, hand clenching his cell phone tight.

' _I'll give you a week to come to my office, so disregard whatever my men told you tonight. Any longer than a week, though, and I'll have someone come collect you. I would rather you not be injured for what I have planned for you, but I know how stubborn you can be, so it can't be helped if you decide to not show up.'_

Law felt that the world was spinning around him even though he was holding completely still.

' _And Law? I think you know what will happen if I have to bring you here by force, don't you?'_

No. Law had been careful. He'd made sure of it. He'd made sure any time he'd been out in public that he and Zoro looked to merely be acquaintances. Doflamingo couldn't have-

' _It would be a shame if that officer you're with had an accident.'_

"Leave him alone." Law broke his silence. "And your information is out of date, by the way. We're no longer seeing one another, and haven't for some time."

' _Even if that's true, I know you, Law. You're not one to let go of people so easily, no matter how hard you try not to care.'_

Law could all but picture the wide, terrifying grin, and felt a sinking feeling along with the sick to his stomach sensation.

' _And Law? If you keep trying to delay the inevitable, I'll make sure that it isn't only the officer who has an accident.'_

The line went dead.

Law stared down at the phone, trapped with the knowledge that he had all but doomed Zoro and his friends by merely associating with them and being adopted as their friend. Law looked over at the sleeping Kid anxiously, wondering if Doflamingo knew about him. The doctor shook his head as he let go of his phone to raise his hands up and dig them into his hair as he let out a slow, shuddering sigh.

"Dammit." Doflamingo had him right where he wanted him, and there was't a damn thing Law could do to stop the man from taking what he wanted. No matter how hard Zoro and the others tried to help him, the moment he was left alone, Doflamingo would be sure to take advantage of that. It really was only a matter of time, and Law could feel the clock ticking. A week wasn't enough time to come up with a plan. Paying off one of his debts wasn't a problem. The other debt was trickier, because it was Law himself that was payment. It also didn't help that Law knew that Doflamingo didn't give a shit about the monetary debt. He wanted Law. Wanted Law's medical expertise. And the older man knew what to do to coerce Law into cooperating if he didn't give in. Time really had run out.

"Dammit." Law repeated softly as he closed his eyes. He knew that he couldn't keep quiet about this. The only question was how to go about explaining what had happened, and convince everyone about how the best course of action was to do as Doflamingo said. Zoro and the others wouldn't care for that, but if nothing else, Law knew that the twisted bastard was relatively good at holding his word when convenient. Law would just have to ensure it was a promise in writing before agreeing to anything.

Until that confrontation with Doflamingo occurred, it appeared as though Law was not going to be able to get a good night's sleep for the foreseeable future.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: ...I honestly don't know why I like to torment Law so, other than the fact that he is one of my favorite One Piece characters, and I enjoy tormenting my favorites for some terrible reason. Kid isn't safe in this fic either because he is a favorite as well. Things will eventually turn out well for both of them but for now...angst and anguish ahoy. (also-common sense is likely to be ignored in some future chapters for the convenience of the plot, even if the characters will later realize they should have done the obvious thing).

I'm glad that there are people interested in this fic. It's a bit of a slow start, I know, but I hope after explaining Kid's situation in the next chapter that the fic will start to move along. I'm getting excited/happy while writing this fic so I really hope this means that I can update it on a semi-regular basis. I'll see how it goes, considering my weird writer's block/no writer's block mood right now. But again, I'll take the ability to write chapters again without complaint. I was beginning to get really down about being unable to write anything but little snippets on Tumblr.


	4. Chapter 4

When Kid managed to wake up after his already rather rude first awakening via throwing up, Kid found that this time, waking up was a slower, almost disorienting process. Despite the fact that he still felt like absolute and utter shit, Kid was quite relieved that he didn't feel like he was going to have to puke his guts out again. And from the sight of the unfamiliar room he was in, the doctor hadn't decided to chuck his sorry ass to the curb. Kid was soon undecided whether it was a good thing to wake up in what was presumably some stranger's home as opposed to a hospital. Kid considered the fact that someone could have gotten to him in a hospital and no one would have known it, so for now, Kid decided that he had lucked out.

"What a fucking mess." Kid muttered to himself as he lie still and tried to get his exhausted mind to figure out what the hell had happened, and pieces of his evening began to click into place. The first piece, apart from where he probably was, was the reminder that the man...Law, was it? Yeah, Law. That dark haired man had up and locked lips with Kid in order to make him take some kind of medicine. Kid frowned up at the ceiling. What the hell kind of person did that to someone else, anyway?

"You're awake."

Kid turned his head and caught sight of the subject of his scrutiny, and narrowed his eyes at the man. The guy looked pretty calm from where he was standing, even if Law did look like he had spent the whole night awake, just from the way his was a little hunched over. Kid met the other man's eyes, and decided that while Law may not have gotten any sleep, those golden eyes were sure as hell alert, studying Kid in return with what amounted to faint interest. Whether from a clinical standpoint or not, Kid didn't particularly care for it, and half propped himself on the bed to glower. "What're you lookin' at?"

No response apart from Law raising a brow and looking at Kid like he was an idiot.

"You normally force medicine onto people like that?" Kid decided to ask, because fuck this guy and his smug expression.

"No, it isn't usual." Law said after staring at Kid for a moment longer. "I normally would have injected it, but I don't have syringes or needles in my house. I just made do, since you weren't about to drink it on your own."

"Why am I in your house? Why not take me to the hospital?" Kid was curious. After all, if he had seen someone sprawled on his sidewalk, he would have just kept walking, so long as it wasn't one of his friends. In that case, Kid would have gotten the friend to a hospital, and then began the long process of tracking down the son of a bitch that had hurt them because Kid didn't like when anyone fucked with his friends. Last night was a bit complicated, because there was no one to blame but himself for his own injuries. Kid could have just chosen not to find,and avoided the injuries. Kid focused on Law again, and returned a similar look as if asking Law who was the dumb one now for the continued silence. Kid couldn't help but crack a crooked grin at the middle finger the doctor offered in return. "What? Just waitin' to see why you lugged my ass in your house?"

"I couldn't 'lug your ass', as you say, without some help. As for why I had you brought in my house...I may have initially had an ulterior motives." Seeing the leer aimed his way, Law added, with a put upon sigh, "Not that kind of motive. But right now, I don't see any point in telling you what I had had in mind, because I already have two uninvited guests in my home, so I suppose my initial plan for you is now invalid with their presence."

Kid was a bit intrigued but since it appeared as though Law wouldn't elaborate any further, he didn't bother asking any further questions. Not to mention Law just had to be a cryptic asshole, and because of that, Kid decided that he would rather not get involved in a stranger's trouble anyway.

"As soon as you're feeling well enough, you can leave." Law frowned briefly, as if calculating something in his head. "I'd say wait until at least late morning, to be sure that that antidote I gave you worked." Law left the room without another word, and it was at that exact moment that a phone started to ring in the room.

Kid was promptly distracted from thinking about the other man's odd behavior, but decided, as he fumbled for his cell, that Law's problems didn't concern him. Kid held the phone up to squint at who was calling, and inwardly groaned.

It was Killer.

Since he knew that he couldn't avoid talking to his friend forever, Kid answered the phone, and Killer wasted no time in getting straight to the point.

' _Where are you, Kid? I thought you were going to open the shop today.'_

"I had a bad time last night and got myself beat up then almost poisoned to death. How was your night?" Kid vented at the phone, feeling peevish and grumpy.

' _You went to that arena again?'_

"Yeah." Kid tensed defensively even though the long haired blond couldn't even see him.

' _You need to be careful, Kid.'_ There was a sigh on the other end of the line, before Killer's tone turned serious. _'I've hears some bad rumors lately about those fighting rings. You should stop going to them for awhile if you can. There was talk of shutting some of them down, and you could get caught up in that.'_

"I am being careful." Kid said defensively. When he didn't hear anything in return, Kid grumbled under his breath before he added, "I'm usually more careful than last night."

' _Are you going to be able to come in and work?'_

"Yeah, just later in the day. Need to sleep it off a bit more." Kid inwardly hated the thought of working while he still felt so beat up but he'd suck it up and do it anyway.

' _Let me know when you are. I can come pick you up.'_

"Right." Kid hung up and dropped the phone on the nightstand near the bed before he buried his face in a pillow with a groan. Getting some more sleep sounded like a fantastic idea.

-x-x-x-

Law had gotten little sleep after Doflamingo's none too subtle threat over the phone, though the doctor was going to wait until he had everyone gathered again before he brought Doflamingo up. The sooner the better, in case the older man decided that it would be fun to toy with Law's emotions and harm his friends. With an inward groan, Law realized that this meant he would have to warn Penguin and the others to be cautious, in the event Doflamingo hadn't just meant Zoro and the others. Law tapped a finger against the counter impatiently as the coffee brewed, and got a few mugs out of a nearby cupboard. After the night he had, Law knew that he was going to need a lot of caffeine intake to function now. Before Law could even get his cup of coffee, he noticed Kid prowl into the kitchen, still looking exhausted but a hell of a lot better than when the doctor had come across him on the sidewalk.

Or in the bedroom, when he had been throwing up because of the poison. Law looked away, not liking what could have happened had he not had the antidote on hand. Kid very well could have been taken down by that poison, despite his size. Law poured a cup of water, even as he heard Kid draw near, and froze in place when he became aware of Kid's close proximity. Holy shit did the man give off a lot of heat. But did he really have to stand so close? Did Kid not understand the concept of personal space, or did he just not give a shit?

"Mornin' doc." Kid's voice was sleepy but it was the underlying teasing tone that really irked Law.

"Don't call me that." Law said automatically, before he let out a faint growl of protest when Kid plucked the mug of coffee from his hand and started drinking out of it. "And who said that was for you?"

"S'mine now." Kid said with a faint grin of triumph as he took another sip, brow raising a bit when Law took the mug back and refilled it.

Meeting the amused amber gaze, Law drank some of the coffee, before raising his brow in return, as if daring the red head to try and take the mug back.

"Friendly in the morning, arent' you?" Kid snorted at the sight and went for one of the empty mugs on the counter.

"It's almost noon."

"Damn, I slept like a fucking log." Kid drawled, as he poured some coffee for himself.

"And who told you could have that?" Law asked sourly.

"You were gonna drink the whole pot, doc?"

Law was about to speak when Kid noticed movement in the living room, and went to go take a look.

"What are they doing here?" Kid asked, pointedly ignoring Law's previous question as he caught sight of Ace and Luffy snoring on the couches in the living room.

"My self-proclaimed bodyguards." Law said with a wave in the brothers' direction.

Kid frowned at that but merely retreated back into the kitchen and settled against the refrigerator with his coffee mug.

"How are you feeling now?" Law decided that it wasn't going to be any good to try and get the red head to have any manners about asking for something instead of taking it. "I don't think I have to ask if you have any nausea if you're drinking coffee."

"Eh...fine, I guess. I don't usually feel good after I get the crap beat out of me." Kid grumbled into the coffee, displeased at having to admit that he couldn't always handle himself in a fight. "Guess the poison or whatever made it worse."

"If you feel any lingering effects, you should go get it checked on." Law said firmly.

"I ain't going to the hospital. I said I'm fine." Kid grumbled. "I'd go into one of those emergency clinics if I had to."

Law was about to insist that Kid be more careful about his health when someone knocked on the front door. Law automatically went to go answer it, and glared when Ace was suddenly awake and had a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"I can answer my own door." Law said testily. "No one is going to hurt me."

"Come on, Law, at least let me and Luffy do what Zoro asked us here for." Ace replied, not at all put off by Law being crabby. "Luffy, get the door?"

"Sure." Luffy answered the door, and greeted the person standing outside with a cheerful smile. "Hey, Zoro."

"I know what you're going to say." Law said flatly when Zoro entered the house wearing his uniform. Despite being side tracked by the sight, Law managed to finish his thought. "I can get to work on my own perfectly fine. If you start driving me to work, isn't that going to cause problems with Sanji?"

"It shouldn't." Zoro said in reply. The green haired officer looked at Law carefully, before sighing. "You were up all night, weren't you?"

Well, no point in hiding the phone call until later. It frustrated Law to have someone know him well enough that they could tell when he had last slept, or at least take a wild guess.

"Doflamingo called me last night." Law held up a hand to forstall the words that were sure to come. "I already warned you all before, but I can't risk having him go after any of you. If you decide to drive me to and from the hospital, Doflamingo might think it amusing to have an accident occur when I'm not in the car."

"Why didn't you call me?" Zoro demanded.

"You could have woken us up." Ace added.

"It was the middle of the night." It was a lame excuse and Law knew it.

"Get ready to go. We're going to make a stop by the station first." Zoro headed over to speak to Luffy and Ace before Law could even begin to argue. With an exasperated sigh, Law went back into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot. It was going to be a long day. He just knew it. And when he returned home, he had an uneasy feeling that both Ace and Luffy were going to try to distract him in one way or another. Probably by trying to come up with a plan on how to best respond to Doflamingo's threats. Law could feel a headache coming on.

"What was that all about?" Kid asked, still leaning up against the refrigerator with the mug of coffee in hand.

"Nothing you need to be concerned with. You aren't involved, as far as I can tell." Law said, before he quieted and lost himself in drinking his coffee.

"Hey…" Kid glanced over his shoulder at Zoro and then turned back to Law. "You guys goin' out or something?" The cop was there before, when Kid was heaving his guts up. Someone else was too, but Kid couldn't recall who.

"We used to." Law's voice was quiet and devoid of emotion, not looking in the direction of where he knew Zoro was. "Not anymore."

"How come?" Kid was genuinely curious, as it seemed like the cop at least cared enough to not let Law get into trouble. Why else would the man have come back to the house?

"None of your business." Law said darkly as he walked past Kid, and headed for his bedroom.

"Huh." The red haired man didn't pursue the topic, and the moment that Law emerged from his bedroom, dressed for the day, the dark haired man noticed Kid join him by the door. Kid produced a cell phone when Law gave the man a look for following him out of the house.

"What? You gonna offer me a ride home or can you tell me an address so I can get my own ride?"

Law absently told Kid his address, wanting to just get to work and do something familiar. Law missed the surprised look on the other man's, like Kid hadn't expected to get that kind of information. Law dismissed the red head from his mind as he entered the police car and was quiet as Zoro drove to the station. Law figured that he wouldn't be seeing Kid again, as he had his own problems to deal with, and it appeared as if Kid had some of his own, based on how Law had found him.

-x-x-x-

Kid continued to feel bruised up and exhausted throughout his shift at the mechanic shop but he got shit done and that was enough for him. Even though Kid knew that Killer seemed to have picked up on the reason why he was having a hard time, the long haired blond hadn't yet decided to confront Kid about it. He hadn't over the phone either, but Kid knew that it would be brought up at some point.

"Can you manage on your own for the rest of the day?"

Killer's words bit into Kid's meandering thoughts, but it was kind of a good think, because Kid didn't want to dwell on the conversation that was sure to come in the near future.

"Kid?"

"I heard you. Was just thinkn'." Kid scowled at the faint laugh that emitted from his friend, and the red head narrowed his eyes at the other man. "I can think whenever the hell I want, Killer. And yeah, I can watch after the shop on my own just fine."

"Are you sure? It seems like you might have gotten on the wrong end of a moving wall last night."

"Fuck you. The son of a bitch cheated. I wouldn't have lost if he hadn't been a jackass and kicked me when I was down after he slugged me." Kid snapped his jaw shut and turned away, cursing up a storm under his breath as he rearranged some tools. Dammit. He hated when Killer said some kind of stupid shit to get him to spill the beans. Not that the red haired man was surprised; only a couple of months ago, Killer had been participating in the fights too, but with the acquisition of another job apart from working at the shop, Killer didn't need to continue to gamble on lost or won fights.

"…Be more careful. I've heard some things from people still going to those fights, and I learned this morning after I talked to you that you want to be careful where you choose to fight. There're rumors that Kaido's been buying up some of those fighting rings; I really hope you read those contracts through before signing for the fights you've gone to recently."

"Kaido? What the hell would he be doing around in this area in the first place?" Kid snorted derisively as he tossed a wrench in a box. "No one's gonna come to this shithole of a city to buy into illegal fighting rings. Not even that jackass Doflamingo has bothered with them. He likes picking up the legal shit before trying to turn it illegal."

"Kid." Killer's tone become one of disapproval.

"Fuck. Fine, I'll make sure I keep an eye on those contracts when I sign in to fight." Kid said grudgingly.

"I'll see you later then." Killer stretched before heading for the front door of the shop. "By the way, Heat and Wire are going to drop off some tools at the apartment later tonight to see if they would be useful for the shop."

"I'll probably close up a little early then if there aren't any stragglers coming in to get their bikes fixed or whatever." Kid watched Killer leave, before he went back to sorting, inwardly wondering why the hell everything kept ending up misplaced all the fucking time. Two hours later, and Kid was seriously considering the whole close early thing because only one person had come into the shop. Two hours later, it was time to close up shop anyway, and Kid was again cursing over how stupid it was to have kept the place open, and should have seriously considered calling it a night hours ago.

Just as Kid finally got everything sorted and was prepared to leave, the red haired man heard the sound of the front door of the shop open. Great, it was probably some entitled idiot that thought they didn't have to abide by store hours like everyone else. Dammit, Kid just wanted to go home and not have to deal with anyone else tonight, apart from Heat and Wire, who were apparently going to show up.

"The shop's closed. Come back tomorrow." Kid growled irritably; at the very least he managed to not swear, which was something the red haired man considered to be an accomplishment.

No response.

Ordinarily that would have meant nothing, but with the way his evening had gone the previous day, Kid was immediately on guard. Not that being prepared for trouble was of any use, because even though he saw the guy appear around the corner and charge at him, Kid was only able to block the expected swing. He hadn't seen the other two guys come in at him from the side to seize his arms. Kid snarled something at the men, but couldn't do shit to prevent them from pinning him against the nearest wall of the shop. Kid instantly tried to push away from the wall to try to free his arms, but the two muscle-headed assholes had leverage over him and were able to keep him in place. Kid was not at all used to being out-muscled except in rare cases, this being one of them. Kid's eyes narrowed at the other people who had entered the back of the shop, recognizing nearly all of them as people that fought in the underground arena that Kid frequented.

One of the slimmer fighters apparently elected themselves as spokesman, because he approached Kid, and stopped a few feet away with a nasty smile.

Kid glowered, not bothering to speak. He knew what was going to happen, or at least figured he knew, and Kid was pissed as hell that he had allowed his debt to get so bad that people were being sent after him to collect money.

"You got lucky last night." Spokesman idiot leered at Kid. "We all thought you were gonna end up dead in a ditch somewhere. Thought with the way you'd been drugged up that you wouldn't have gotten far."

Kid remained silent, even though he tensed up with the longing to lash out at these idiots. But even Kid knew it was pointless to get into a fight right now, being at a disadvantage as he was. Kid did, however, growl soundlessly at the two men holding him against the wall as they tightened their grasp.

"You lost a lot of money last night, and you didn't pay anything before leaving. Since you'll have to pay that all back eventually anyway, for the time being, we're gonna take what you have in this shop, and what you have on ya. Orders, after all."

"Like fuck you are." Kid snarled angrily. He'd just scored a lot on the one person who had come in earlier, and he was now regretting leaving his wallet in his pocket, because there was money in it for once.

"It's not a request."

"Fuck you." Kid's head jerked to the side from the crack one of the other men in the room delivered to the left side of his face. Kid shook his head in an attempt to reorient himself, but was struck in the abdomen soon after. Kid sagged immediately, and ended up of the ground with a grunt. It figured he'd be let go of, because it was easier to gang up on him when he was down. Clenching his teeth, Kid lunged out at the nearest man, and grappled his legs. The red head jabbed his fingers into the back of the guy's knee, which made the asshole fall over with a yelp.

"Shit." Kid snarled as he let go of the fallen man and rolled to the side to avoid an incoming kick. Kid half rose only to be delivered another solid kick to his abdomen, which laid him out on his back. Kid surged back up, knowing it would be bad to linger on the ground for too long, but his attempt was halted by an incoming knife. Kid jerked his head back in a desperate attempt to avoid letting the knife make contact, but moved too slowly to prevent it altogether. A sting followed by a burning pain lanced through Kid's face as the knife caught him over his left eye and then down along the cheek. Biting back a hiss of pain from the new wounds, Kid ended up on his back again after smacking the back of his head. Kid half turned onto his side, thinking to force himself back up, only to feel a foot jam into his shoulder and force him over onto his back again.

"Son of a bitch."

Kid couldn't even respond to the insult, too busy heaving for breath at this point.

"You better stop or we'll just use your dead body to pay back your debt." The sound of a gun being cocked sounded in the shop.

Kid held perfectly still apart from the gasping for air thing, and cursed inwardly. He didn't try to get back up again, because he would rather not end up dead by way of a gunshot. Kid leveled his pained amber gaze on a man who crouched over him, and bit back a snarled oath when the guy reached over and grabbed him by the hair, yanking his upper body off the ground so the two of them could be face to face.

Fucking hell did Kid hate assholes that were as strong as him. It fucking sucked, and Kid dearly wanted to punch this smug asshole in the face. In compromise, Kid used his elbows to brace himself on the ground so there wasn't as much pressure on his neck from the man holding him up by his hair. At least no one shot him for it, though from the sound of the register being broken in to, Kid figured these fucking bastards knew he couldn't fight back under these circumstances. Especially not with only one good eye, as he now had to squint with his left because of the knife wound, and figured it would only be a matter of time before the blood would congeal, and he would be able to see jack shit from that eye until he had it seen to. In any case, the wounds screwed Kid's chances of a fair fight, though from the looks of it, there wouldn't be that chance.

"There's going to be another big fight two weeks from now. And you're gonna go to it, cause until you pay off the debt you've accumulated, you're gonna be one of Kaido's arena bitches."

"You're talking shit." Kid risked a shaky, breathless laugh. "It's just a local fight arena; not one of Kaido's places. I ain't that stupid."

"Well guess what, ginger, you are that stupid." The man let go of Kid's hair, letting Kid fall back down on the ground and hit the back of his head again with a curse. The man's voice turned mocking. "You should learn to read the fine print of the papers you signed the past few months when you went to participate."

Kid felt something land on his chest. Paper, from the sound of it. The red head's attention was diverted when the spokesman from before kneeled next to him and went for his pocket. Kid's hand jerked as if to stop the guy, but the man still crouched over Kid stamped down on the red head's left wrist. Kid sucked in a harsh breath, being painfully reminded that the wrist had already been sore to begin with. Kid started to curse again when his wallet was pulled free of his pocket, and the guy opened it and produced some cash.

"Damn, you're holding out on us." The spokesman commented, waving the bills at the other fighters, who all whistled mockingly at the sight.

Kid bristled at the sight; that was his damn rent money that he needed a few days from now. Kid didn't realize that he had opened his mouth to say something until the man holding the cash kicked him in the side harshly, another person kicking him lightly but firmly in the head near his wounds to further deter him. Kid swore and spat at the asshole that had kicked him, which earned him another painful kick to the side.

"He ain't too bright, is he?"

"Well, it'd work in the arena, wouldn't t?"

"Well, his face'll give him a bit of a handicap next time, huh?"

Kid bit back a pained yelp when one of the jackasses decided to stamp down on his right knee.

"You better not let that Bellamy asshole win when he shows is ugly face. We got high hopes for you, ginger."

Kid bit the inside of his cheek angrily when the foot pressed down harder on his knee. These fucking losers were going to be battered pieces of shit the next time he faced any of them. Kid barely held back a pained sound when the foot moved away from his wrist, and then finally the guy moved his foot away from his knee and fuck did that hurt. Kid vaguely noted that the men were starting to head for the front of the shop, until only one man remained. The spokesman of the group. Kid glared at the man through one eye, because the blood had since congealed over his left eye.

"Your fee is going to be doubled when you enter the next fight for this." The man flashed the cash he had pulled out of Kid's wallet, before he dropped said wallet next to Kid. "You'll get a text the day of the fight for the time and place, in case it has to be moved again." Without another word, the man turned around and left.

Kid remained on his back until he heard the front door close and remain closed. Kid crumpled up the papers on his chest as he turned onto his side. Letting go of those papers, Kid used his right hand to retrieve his phone, and attempted to ignore the pain he was in, along with the dizziness that had started to come and go. His leg didn't help Kid much either, as shifting the limb caused Kid to wince when the limb twanged in protest. After a few frustrating seconds of trying to dial Killer's number while at the same time holding the rest of his body still, the red head succeeded, and didn't have to wait long for his friend to answer the phone.

 _'Kid? Where are you? Didn't you close up shop yet?'_

"I think I need to go to the hospital." Kid knew he had to have sounded like shit, because Killer picked up the fact that something was wrong immediately.

 _'Kid? What happened?'_

Kid leaned against the nearest wall, felt that he may have mumbled something to Killer, but other than that, couldn't recall. Because Kid's mind was fuzzy, his face hurt, he could feel blood sliding down his face from the knife wounds to his cheek. Kid's non injured eye closed, thinking he'd take a moment to take a few breaths, but he must have briefly blacked out, because the next thing Kid knew, Killer was suddenly there with him, and urging him to his feet. How Kid was able to keep himself upright on his likely fucked up right leg was beyond Kid. But even that seemed to pale in comparison to the thought of Kaido running the illegal fighting rings he had been going to. Because if it was true, Kid was fucked.

-x-x-x-

Kid didn't remember much of the trip to the hospital, but he did find it interesting that when he woke up, Law happened to be there, and the doctor wore a peculiar expression on his face. Since Kid didn't really know what to say, he tried for a grin and grimaced when that pulled at the stitches on his face. The red haired man settled for something simple.

"Hey." Kid figured he had to be drugged up on pain killers, because he looked Law over a little more slowly than before and added, "What's the outfit for?" Scrubs. Law was wearing scrubs and Kid found that hilarious for some reason. Damn, did his head hurt too.

"I work here." Law's face was set in a frown now. "I didn't expect for you to wake so quickly. You have a cut over your eye and along your cheek, as well as a bruised kneecap and a sprained wrist. None of which you had before you left my house this afternoon."

"Don't wanna talk about it. Can't." Kid did recall now that Law had mentioned that he was a doctor. "You stitched me up?"

"I'm a surgeon; I just happened to be on hand when your friend brought you in."

"Still going to call you doc." Kid assured Law, which drew a funny look from the other man.

"Get some sleep," Law said with a shake of his head, even as a faint look of guilt crossed his face.

"S'not you." Kid picked up on the guilty look despite feeling really fucking out of it, and somehow actually remembered that Law had troubles of his own, and slurred, "It's my own problems…that bit me in the ass. Not yours."

"Sleep." Law insisted.

"Not tired." Kid was pleased to note that Law looked relieved over the idea that he hadn't caused the red head's injuries. Kid attempted to stretch, and as he did, he saw Law murmur something to a nurse before the nurse came over and fiddled with something near Kid. The red haired man threw an accusatory, albeit sleepy, glare at Law when Kid noticed that he was getting drowsy.

"You're no fun." Kid grumbled. "Just talkin' to you. No need...to put me out..."

"You're not making very much sense right now." Law responded, though he seemed to be at least a little amused by the way Kid was acting.

Kid drifted off before getting to protest. But more importantly, Kid wasn't able to ask why Law had even been checking up on him. Kid had been in a hospital room; not on an operating table.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: *Continues to shake fist at writer's block*

This chapter was a bit harder to get through, but for what I want, I think it turned out all right. After all, my main goal for this story is to just keep it going.


	5. Chapter 5

Law didn't stick around to wait for Kid to wake up. The dark haired doctor had merely felt obligated to make sure that Kid was healing fine, and mainly because Law had thought that his troubles with Doflamingo were the cause of the attack on the red head. Law couldn't help but be immensely relieved that that was not the case, because really, Doflamingo would have had to have gotten the information very quickly. It made the rest of Law's day sail by smoothly, and all was well until the end of his shift when Law left the hospital to find Zoro waiting there for him.

"I told you before that I can get home just fine, Zoro-ya." Law frowned at his ex. "And I do mean it when I told you that Doflamingo made threats about harming those I am close to."

"Just get in the car, Law." Zoro didn't seem fazed over the idea of his life being in potential danger. "What's important is that we don't make you an easy target right now."

Law's shoulders slumped; he was too tired to argue with the green haired policeman that evening. Without another word, Law let himself into the car, and was silent the entire ride home. He just couldn't help but feel that something would go wrong at some point, and that Zoro couldn't always be around to protect him.

And Law was right when, a week later, he was caught off guard.

-x-x-x-

Law had been enjoying a nice evening walk when the peaceful air was shattered by the intrusion of several thugs converging on him. It had happened so fast that Law couldn't even begin to think to run, and he was swiftly taken away in a car without being able to put up much of a fight. Law was further thwarted in his thoughts of escape when a rag was forced over his mouth and nose, and the doctor soon passed out, uncertain where he was being taken.

But what Law didn't realize was that a certain red haired individual had witnessed the kidnapping.

-x-x-x-

When Law came to, he was very groggy, and apart from realizing that his surroundings were dim, Law was more concerned over the fact that he was tied to a chair, with his arms secured behind the back of the chair itself. Law raised his head at the low chuckles in the room, and tensed on the chair at the sight of all the unpleasant leers that were aimed at him.

This had to be Doflamingo's doing; the man had said he had a week to go to him willingly, and Law had chosen to ignore that. And now, Law was paying for it, and couldn't help but feel ill over what might be done to him. Doflamingo had said that he would be brought to him, but not necessarily in tip-top condition. Law regretted not making a call to anyone before he went on his walk, because he had no idea where he could possibly be. Not that Law could make a call at present with the way he was bound to the chair, and that made the situation worse in the doctor's mind.

"Doffy is tired of you skirting around payin' your debt, doc. And he doesn't like how you're hoping that hiding behind other people is gonna help you avoid paying up. Doffy said to bring you to him, but not before teaching you a lesson. This is what you get for not listening and giving what you owe."

Law did not like the sound of that at all, but he could do nothing about one of the men in the room circling around to the back of the chair.

"Bet you need both your hands in good condition to work, huh, doc?"

Law's mouth went dry, not comprehending at first the threat, until there was a sharp, harsh strike to his right arm with something hard. There was an audible snap, and the dark haired doctor let out a soundless scream as the pain washed over him. Had someone just really broken his arm?

-x-x-x-

Kid didn't know what the hell he thought he was doing. He should have been calling the police, not trailing after a car that had Law in it. There was no other way about it. Law had definitely been kidnapped, and really, Kid shouldn't have involved himself but...the red haired man felt that he owed Law for helping him out not once but twice, if only because Kid hated to be in someone else's debt. So there he was, chasing down a car through the town all the way to an abandoned apartment complex a mile or so away.

It was inconvenient that there were so many people with Law, because if it had been one or two, Kid would have been able to handle them easily. But with four men, and then another two already at the apartment, Kid knew he'd have to actually think things through for once, because if he missed a taking a guy down, Law or Kid himself could end up hurt. Kid grumbled something under his breath as he watched an unconscious Law being brought into the apartment, before Kid followed along after them, careful to keep quiet until he could see what the hell was going on.

Once inside the apartment, Kid lingered outside the room Law had been brought in to, and the moment Kid heard voices speaking, he peered around through the door frame, his jaw setting when he saw Law tied to a chair. But before Kid could figure out how he was going to take down all the men in the room, rational plans were thrown far out the window the moment Kid witnessed one of the goons in the room break Law's arm.

It triggered something in Kid, of past events he had thought he had gotten over, and before he even realized it, Kid was in the room and punching out the guy who had broken the doctor's arm. Kid wasn't really aware of what happened for the next few moments, apart from the fact that he was beating the shit out of the guys in the room, despite being attacked in return. But Kid was seeing red, memories still wrapped around the present, until one man in the room gouged his left arm deeply with a knife. It snapped Kid out of his rage, and allowed him to side step the knife wielding man.

With a another maneuver out of the way of the slashing knife, Kid grabbed the guy's wrist and twisted it, causing the man to drop the knife with a yelp of pain. Kid swung his free hand and clocked the guy in the face, letting go of the wrist to let the guy drop limp to the ground. Chest heaving, Kid pressed a hand to his arm and did a quick check of the room, and was surprised to find that he had actually managed to take out all of the men in the room.

Six groaning bodies were on the ground, some either unconscious or close to it.

"What are you doing here?" A pain laced voice demanded from behind. "Get out of here. Don't get involved in this."

Kid turned around to offer a grin, still feeling rather light from the sudden rush of adrenaline. "Too late for that, doc. They already saw me, and I can't kill 'em because I don't wanna get arrested by your ex-cop boyfriend."

"I think he would...turn a blind eye to it in this case." Law managed to say with a faint, pained smile.

Kid snorted at that as he approached Law, and loosened the rope to free the dark haired doctor. As Law gingerly cradled his right arm, Kid rooted around on the ground and produced a broken piece of wood.

"A splint?" Law questioned. "That can't be sanitary."

"Your arm is covered. Don't bitch about it. Shit'll be worse off the more you move it." Kid considered the unconscious men's clothes, decided he didn't want their clothes on Law, and took his own shirt off because it was cleaner. Kid caught sight of Law staring at him intently, and grinned in return. "See somethin' you like, doc?"

Law looked away hastily like he had been been caught doing something wrong. "We need to leave before they wake up."

"Probably a good idea." Kid gripped his shirt and tore it with his bare hands, missing the quick, admiring once over of his muscles from Law.

Law flinched as Kid placed broken piece of wood against his right forearm, and bit back a pained cry when Kid secured one end of the shirt around the piece of wood and forearm before pressing the limb to Law's chest. Grimacing, Law held still as best he could as the other end of the shirt was looped around his waist and then tucked in his belt. "You've one this before."

"Yeah, couple of years ago."

Kid was able to pick Law up without the doctor protesting, and in fact felt Law go limp against his bare chest. It was clearly a form of relief, for whatever reason. Kid started to head for the door of the apartment room, noting that Law's head was sagging heavily against his chest. "Oy, don't pass out on me."

"Not likely to happen." Law muttered against him.

"And stop drooling on me." Kid said, disgruntled yet amused when he got to the stairs leading out of the apartment.

"Are you able to control yourself when your're in pain?" Law moaned against Kid's skin, not hiding the fact that he actually seemed to enjoy pressing his face against the red head's bare skin.

"Yeah, I can, actually." Kid said smugly in response.

"Jackass." Law slurred in return, sounding a little more out of it, especially when he began to mumble, "Straw hat-ya is going to follow me everywhere now. And Zoro-ya's going to be upset that I didn't tell anyone I was leaving the house." Law snuggled further against Kid, his mutters sounding drowsy, "Mmnn, Zoro-ya, you bulked up..."

"I ain't your ex, doc," Kid said with a sigh. "Damn, you really are outta it, huh?"

Law made a hum of assent against Kid. "Use my cell...to call Zoro-ya."

Kid decided Law sounded lucid then, before the doctor went straight back to mumbling, though no words were audible this time.

"Shit, tell me that I at least get a kiss outta all of this." Kid grumbled under his breath. The red haired man shifted his hold on Law and got the cell phone out of the doctor's pocket. Kid saw all of the missed calls and texts on the screen, before he went into Law's contacts and found one labeled Zoro-ya. Kid dialed it, and there wasn't even a second ring as the cop answered it on the first.

 _'Law, why the hell haven't you been answering your phone? No one's been able to get a hold of you! What were you thinking?'_

"Get someone to come out to the abandoned apartment complex on 3rd street." The red haired man cut in. "The doc's hurt." Kid could hear soft swearing on the other end of the line.

 _'Did you see who did it?'_

"Yeah, and they're all unconscious in the apartment. For now. Not sure how well I laid them out."

 _'Are you outside?'_

"Yeah."

 _'I've heard some calls in the past hour. They're suspicious, so keep an eye out. I'll be there as soon as I can.'_

Kid hung up the phone, and pocketed it. "The cop's coming to get us." Kid informed the out of it Law. Kid was about to shift his hold on the doctor when one of the goons from before stumbled out of the apartment, saw Kid, and shouted over his shoulder before drawing a gun.

Well, fuck.

Kid turned the other way and ran, not about to take his chances against a gun of all things. A fist fight was one thing, but even Kid knew better then to try to fight someone packing heat. Kid found it unnerving that the shots that were fired were low to the ground, as if the guy was trying to get him in the leg. Kid didn't fancy getting shot or caught, so he ran like hell, glad Law wasn't all that hard to carry around.

In any case, it was turning out to be a very shitty day.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I'm going to keep trying to update this, no matter how short or long the chapter is.


	6. Chapter 6

Kid was still wondering what in the fuck he had just gotten himself in to by returning the favor and helping Law out. The red haired man highly doubted that Law was in a similar situation as himself; drowning in debt from several lost fights in an illegal fighting arena. Law probably had some choices in the ways to deal with whatever problem he had, but Kid didn't. All Kid could do was to go back to those fights and try to win money to pay down his debts that he had landed himself in. What Law himself was involved in that would make someone want to kidnap him, Kid didn't want to know, or even really care.

"They went that way! Don't let them get away!"

Kid cursed as he ducked around the corner of the building, readjusting his grip on Law as he attempted to figure out what the fuck he was going to do to stay out of range of the gun. Grinding his teeth and growling irritably, Kid kept on moving, banishing the thought that he would always have to look over his shoulder. And probably even after he had paid off his debts. It wasn't a very comforting thought, nor was the sound of the gun going off again dangerously close.

A siren began to sound in the distance, and the cursing of the men in pursuit of Kid was music to the red head's ears. Kid only slowed down when he caught sight of a police car taking a sharp turn onto the side street that Kid had been booking it down. Kid clutched Law close, as if expecting whoever was in the car to continue the chase for whatever horrible reason, and only minutely relaxed when he saw Zoro exit the car. Kid watched Zoro wave a few other officers that had driven up to go to the building, before the green haired man approached Kid.

Zoro came to a halt close enough to be able to inspect Law.

The dark haired doctor was content to remain plastered against Kid's bare chest, eyes closed and breathing a bit accelerated whenever he accidentally jostled his arm.

Kid figured that Zoro saw the makeshift split, because his expression darkened briefly, before he shook his head and indicated for Kid to follow him. Kid wasn't about to argue; for now, anyway. Now that the adrenaline had begun to wear off, he was only just noticing for certain that he hadn't come out of the encounter entirely unscathed.

"Would you be able to recognize the people if you see them again?"

"Maybe." Kid said, when he realized Zoro's question had been directed at him. "But if you're gonna ask, no, none of them looked familiar to me at all." Kid came to a halt beside the police car, and held still as Zoro cast an eye over Law again, before the officer frowned, and opened the back door.

"I'll help you get him in the car."

Kid bit back a snort, about to tell Zoro he didn't need any help, but recalled the previous relationship the two men had had. Shit. This was why Kid avoided his ex lover. He didn't want anything to do with the people he had dumped, or vice versa. It could be awkward as hell. Kid maneuvered Law out of his arms carefully, and between him and Zoro, were able to get Law buckled into the seat.

"Could you sit next to him to make sure he won't fall over and hurt himself more?"

Kid frowned at that, but grunted dismissively and went around to the other side of the car to do so. Law didn't even seem to track that Kid had sat down next to him, though Law did lean up against him with a soft sigh. Whether from relief that he wasn't being harassed anymore by people trying to hurt him, or that he was against Kid's bare skin, the red head didn't know. A part of Kid found that he wanted to preen a bit while having his physique be admired, but Law was injured and not thinking very clearly. The moment the man was well again, Law was probably going to flat out deny that anything had happened.

As for right now...

Kid grimaced as he became more aware of the knife wound he had received. With a curse under his breath, and as the car pulled out of the side street, Kid wondered if his own troubles were about to get mixed up with Law's own.

-x-x-x-

At the hospital, Kid was treated for the knife wound that he had received, and was released soon after with orders to take it easy and come back to have the stitches removed. Or to come back if the jagged wound became infected beneath all of the stitches and bandages. Standing outside the room he had just been in, Kid drew his phone out and made a call.

"Hey, Killer? Can you cover my shift today?"

There was a long, drawn out sigh on the other end of the line. _'Yes, I can. Are you going to tell me what happened?'_

"Yeah, yeah, I will, when I see you." Kid bristled a little over the fact that it seemed like Killer had expected him not to. Kid hung up before Killer could say anything else, and thought that going home and crashing was a wonderful idea.

"Hey."

Kid half turned to see Zoro headed his way. The police officer looked worn out, and Kid could say he felt similarly, though mainly because he had been an idiot and gotten involved in something that had nothing to do with him.

"How come you were there to see what happened?"

"Do I need a lawyer before I tell you anything?" Kid asked jokingly. Fuck, he was tired, and he didn't want to play 20 questions with a cop right now.

"Do you need one?" The green haired officer's voice was serious.

"Shit, I don't know who those people were, got it? I was going to my shop for work when I saw them jump the doc."

"Why didn't you call the police?"

"I didn't think of that at the time." Kid probably should have, now that Zoro mentioned it. "I just followed them because I owed the doc for him helping me out before, and I don't like bein' in debt to someone else."

Zoro apparently took that response for what it was, and then sighed.

"You're going to need to come back here in a few days, right? To follow up with your injury?"

"Not until I need to get the stitches out." Kid said, a little sullenly, only realizing now that he may have a bit of a difficult time working with a temporarily bum arm he wasn't supposed to use much.

"Give me your number. When Law is out of the hospital, I want to talk to the both of you about what happened." Seeing Kid's suspicious expression, Zoro added, with a smile. "Off the record."

That was okay, Kid supposed, as he gave the cop his number. But for right now, Kid had a date with his bed, and he was going to sleep off the pain for the time being. Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't just talk over the phone to Zoro or something about what happened, but for now, Kid would make sure he kept on looking over his shoulder, in case his actions had made himself a target of some unknown party. Killer would say that he was being paranoid, but Kid wasn't about to let his guard down if he could help it.

Kid wouldn't be caught by surprise ever again.

-x-x-x-

When Law woke up in a hospital, aching, he knew that he was very lucky to be where he was. He was safe, for now, and more importantly, the dark aired doctor was not in Doflamingo's home, in pain and unable to do anything about his injuries until the blond haired man would have decided he could have it taken care of. Law shivered involuntarily as his hand brushed his wounded arm absently. Law didn't want to think what could have happened if he hadn't had his arm treated as soon as possible. It sure as hell felt like that one asshole had broken a bone somewhere in the forearm.

"The nurse said you were awake."

Law stiffened, his eyes on his lap. His words caught in his throat, because there was nothing that he could say that would be an acceptable reason for why he had left his home without informing anyone. Law was unable to look Zoro in the eyes. Law knew that, even though they were no longer together, Zoro still cared for him, and it hurt to think what he was doing to the man, even after they had parted ways. It would have been better if Zoro had just kept his distance, to avoid being hurt further, but Law had known that there was no way that was going to happen. Law stilled when a warm body was suddenly against his own, and the doctor realized that Zoro had him in a tight hug. And because Law knew the man so well, Law knew that Zoro was relieved to see him awake and doing well, considering the circumstances.

"Don't do that again." Zoro muttered against the side of Law's head. "None of us could figure out where you were."

Law closed his eyes, feeling the string of tears at the corner of his eyes. He hadn't realized how much he had been craving physical contact, nor that he apparently needed to be held after what he had gone through. A flash of being held by Kid filtered through Law's mind, but it was overpowered by the man currently holding him tightly. There was nothing sexual about it, but Law couldn't help but start to squirm uncomfortably.

"You should stop hugging me. What if Sanji sees us? I would like for him to stop thinking that we are trying to get back together." Law felt Zoro let go of him, and chanced a look up to meet the other man's eyes, and was surprised to see a faint smile playing around the officer's lips.

"Sanji will have to just deal with seeing you around."

Law gave Zoro a very confused look, until comprehension dawned in his pain-filled mind and the dark haired doctor shook his head.

"Absolutely not. I am not going to stay over at your house. It will only make things worse for you and Sanji."

"I am more concerned about your safety right now, so you're going to be staying at my house until we figure out how to make it so you aren't going to be kidnapped." Zoro shook his head. "Sanji can either deal with it or stay at one of our friend's houses until we're sure that you'll be safe on your own."

Law desperately wanted to argue; to remind Zoro why he didn't want anyone to be involved in his troubles. That they could all be hurt. To reiterate that Doflamingo would do everything he could to make the dark haired doctor absolutely miserable until he had no choice but to give in.

"Get some rest. I'll make sure no one comes into the hospital after you."

Law didn't realize that he was so exhausted until he couldn't open his eyes back up after closing them. But he did try to tell Zoro not to worry. That he should go home to Sanji.

"He can survive a night on his own."

Funny, Law didn't think he had actually had it in him to speak, but apparently he had. A hand ruffling his hair followed Law into slumber, and then there wasn't a thing he could do but sleep.

-x-x-x-

Kid slept like shit for several days, though whether because of his crappy bed or thinking too much about people jumping him in his sleep, he wasn't sure. The red haired man just knew he felt like crap and it annoyed the hell out of him.

Chugging down some coffee that Killer had left in a pot in the kitchen before the blond had gone off to work wasn't the greatest thing to have first thing in the morning, but it was better than nothing. So was the leftover food in the refrigerator. And why was Kid even up at 7 in the morning?

Because that damn cop had woken him up with a call and asked him if he could 'chat' about what had happened when he had helped the doc out the other day.

Kid snorted.

A chat, sure. It was more than likely going to be a pain in the ass. Kid hated having to play the ask and answer game, especially with a cop. But since Kid didn't want Zoro to kick his door down or worse, drag him off to the station, Kid agreed for the cop to swing by his apartment to pick him up. After that, they would go get Law, so the three of them could go somewhere and get the talk out of the way.

With a soft huff of irritation, Kid haphazardly threw on some clothes and exited his apartment, figuring he may as well get this over with. Then, he could go back to wondering whether or not he would be up to that fight in less than two weeks' time. He needed the damn money, and he wasn't about to take another shake down in his shop if he could help it.

-x-x-x-

When Law was released from the hospital that morning, he had hoped he could get to his own home without incident. There was no doubt in his mind that Ace and Luffy were likely to hover around him and not let him out of their sight, but that was a good deal better than having...

Law stopped short just outside the front doors of the hospital, his gaze zeroing in on Zoro, who was leaning against a car, apparently waiting for him. Law glared as if to try to warn the officer off, but Zoro merely approached him and took Law's non-injured arm in his grasp, and held on firmly.

"You look like you're going to run away." Zoro offered.

Law most certainly did feel like he should run; he really, really didn't want to deal with Sanji shooting him the evil eye whenever he and Zoro were in the same room.

"This is a bad idea and you know it." Law said stiffly, even as he allowed the green haired police officer to lead him to the car. "Sanji with kill me in my sleep. With a pillow."

"No he won't. He's far more likely to stay in bed with me to make sure no one joins us."

"I don't do threesomes." Law muttered crossly under his breath, unable to help but smirk when Zoro flashed him an amused smile. Why the hell had Law said that, even if it was true?

"I have thought of a way to deal with Sanji." Zoro said as he opened the back door with a more noticeable smile.

"Oh?" Law highly doubted it.

"What the fuck is going on? I thought you said you wanted to talk about what happened." A familiar voice ground out from inside he car.

Law started. What the hell was Kid doing in Zoro's car? Law had thought that Zoro was taking him to his house...so why was Kid in the vehicle as well? Law didn't get much chance to think before he was being herded in the car by Zoro, and what was happening didn't sink in until Zoro had started the car and was on the road. Law's eyes narrowed at the back of Zoro's head.

"You cannot force a stranger to stay in your home."

"The fuck?"

Law noticed Kid glance at him sharply before the red head joined in glaring at the back of Zoro's head.

"I thought you said this was just going to be talking about what happened the other day. I ain't staying in a cop's house." Kid let out a soft curse when a stack of papers landed on his lap that Zoro had tossed back from the front of the car.

"And what exactly are you going to do about it?" Zoro asked, his eyes on the road ahead.

Law was surprised to see Kid go even paler than he already was, the more sheets of paper he flicked through, before an irritated look settled on his features.

"How in the hell were you able to even find this shit?" Kid demanded, waving the papers at Zoro despite the fact that the police officer was focused on driving.

"Did you know that your apartment is being watched?" Zoro asked into the silence. "Do you want to end up like Law? Being kidnapped off the streets?"

Law quietly looked Kid over as the red haired man spluttered unintelligibly before the doctor spoke dryly.

"You would have to be a fool to try and kidnap someone as big as Kid." Law averted his eyes when the red head's gaze fell on him as something occurred to the doctor. "That was why someone drugged you that night, wasn't it?"

Kid shifted uncomfortably in his seat, ether because he didn't want to answer the question, or because kidnapping him was exactly what someone had been trying to do.

Law looked out the window of the car, not sure how he was supposed to get out of staying in Zoro's home. At least, thoughts of escape were what Law was contemplating, until Zoro threw him a curve ball.

"Oh, by the way, the two of you will be staying in the guestroom together."

Law sagged against the door, sighing heavily. Well, that would at least keep Sanji from thinking he'd crawl into Zoro's bed in the middle of the night. Law was kind of surprised that he didn't hear a whisper of protest from Kid, but then again, the red head hadn't been very subtle in his interest in Law. And more importantly, Law himself hadn't been at all subtle.

This was probably a bad idea.

A new thought came to Law as he straightened from his slouch the moment Zoro parked in a driveway.

"Zoro-ya?"

"Hmm?"

"Does Sanji know about this?"

"No." Zoro said with a smile. "He doesn't."

Law leaned back against the headrest as he closed his eyes with a groan. Fantastic. As if Sanji didn't already have enough reasons to dislike him. This was going to be a disaster. With his eyes closed, Law missed the frown Kid leveled on him, as well as the faint flicker of interest over the idea of sharing a bedroom when it had been brought up.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Chapter kind of jumps around but hey, I managed another chapter! I'm glad people enjoy seeing updates, so I just hope I can keep at it. The point of this fanfic is to try to push myself to finish it.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: And I'm back to working on this fic, because dammit, I need to get one of my wips finished and this one is easier to get back in to because the point of it is to post chapters no matter the length of the chapter just to try and get the story finished.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Stay in the car." Zoro said, not bothering to check and see if Law or Kid would listen to him. Instead, the green haired cop opened the door and slid out of the car with an easy grace, though he was tense as he looked to and fro. And as he moved, Zoro's hand hovered over where he had his gun holstered, as if he expected someone to pop out of nowhere to and try to whisk Law away again.

"Oy, doc, is he actually serious about having me stay here, or are you all messin' with me?" Kid questioned Law, though the red head's eyes were on the green haired cop as Zoro scouted out the area around the house.

"Zoro-ya and his friends will do as they please." Law sighed as he moved away from the window and sagged in the car seat, half against Kid, and seemingly unaware of the close contact. "They mean well, but sometimes that means dealing with their harebrained schemes."

"That doesn't answer why he wants me to be here." Kid stated, even though he damn well had a good idea that it was because Zoro thought he could act as a buffer between his ex and new lover. The red haired man wasn't exactly sure why the cop wanted it to be him, apart from the fact that Kid had returned the favor and helped Law when he'd been in trouble. But that didn't mean Kid would be interested in getting cozy with Law when the other man was clearly still pining after his ex. Kid didn't want to get in the middle of that, because he figured he would end up being the one disappointed. Sure, Law was interesting and all, but it was a big turn off to have the doctor so hung up over someone else.

Kid would rather have the attention all on him, and until Law decided that he'd get over the green haired cop, Kid sure as hell hoped that Zoro didn't expect to romance him or some such shit. Because Kid didn't do relationships. He liked the convenience of having a partner in bed, but not when emotions became entangled in it, and fights broke out, and then there were exes to avoid.

Nope. Been there, done that, not interested in having it happen again.

Kid wasn't going to get involved in a relationship of any kind ever again. Not even for the man currently leaning against his shoulder and looking forlornly out the window. Kid closed his eyes and cursed inwardly when Law leaned further against him with a soft sigh. Problem was that Kid had realized that he had more than a passing interest in Law, and wasn't that just too fucking bad that he wasn't trying to chat Law up to get him in bed. It was that damn kiss that Law had given him that had sparked it. Well, it wasn't exactly a kiss when someone was forcing you to drink medicine, but it was close enough to qualify as a kiss in Kid's mind.

Fuck, he'd like the way Law's lips had felt against him and despite trying to talk himself into thinking it was because he'd been in pain, that had failed. There was no way around it. Kid was definitely infatuated, and it pissed the red head off to no end.

Zoro went from one end of the yard to the other, and, after waiting for a few cars to pass by, went back to his own car, apparently satisfied that it was safe.

"Coast's clear." Zoro said simply, as he opened the passenger door and automatically offered a hand to Law.

Kid felt a faint tremor run through Law's frame, and the way that the dark haired doctor hesitated before sitting up to accept the green haired man's help out of the car. The way the touch lingered between the two men while Law tried to find his balance rubbed Kid the wrong way. Despite his feelings on the matter of not getting involved or attached, Kid exited the cop's cruiser so that he could go around and interrupt. The way that Law was acting like he wasn't sure what to do with Zoro holding his hand just seemed…painful. And it ticked Kid off to watch it, so he decided he would do something about it. Really, Kid had no reason to butt into another person dealing with an ex, but if he was going to be stuck with them for the foreseeable future, he did not want to have to keep seeing Law act so pitifully around his ex. Sooner or later, Kid wouldn't be able to remain silent on that matter.

"I got him." Kid said simply as he came to a halt next to Law's left side.

"Didn't you hurt your leg? Would more weight bother it?" Zoro questioned.

"That was over a week ago. I'm fine." Kid glowered at the cop as he wrapped an arm around Law's back without any hesitation whatsoever. Despite Kid's mantra of not being interested in relationships, he couldn't deny that he liked that way he could tuck Law up against his side and have the other man melt against him. Though in this case, it was due to exhaustion and the ability to remain upright that made Law lean against Kid's side.

"Don't you gotta open the door or something?" Kid made eye contact with Zoro, and kept the stare steady, not looking away. Much to Kid's irritation, the cop seemed to be silently judging him for some reason or another.

"Eustass-ya, I can get into a house on my own." Law said softly, clearly still distracted by the way he was holding onto Zoro's hand.

Kid stubbornly held tighter, though he was faintly amused that he'd received the 'ya' at the end of his name, since it appeared that only a few people had it tagged to the end of their name.

Like Zoro.

Dammit.

"I really am all right. Just tired." Law insisted, unaware of the glare that Kid was now sending Zoro's way, though the green haired cop noticed it and acted accordingly.

"You can let go of my hand, Law." Zoro said after a moment, his gaze briefly softening, as if knowing where Law's mind was. "It seems like Kid here is going to help you." Zoro turned his gaze on Kid, and there seemed to be a hell of a lot more meaning in those eyes than the cop's words let on.

Fuck.

Damn it all to hell. Did the cop know that Kid had an interest in Law after all? Or was he just taking a wild guess? Kid looked away from Zoro to check on Law out of the corner of his eyes, and saw that the doctor still held on to Zoro's hand.

"Oy, doc, if we're gonna go inside the house you need to let him open the door." Kid had his eyes on Law, so he didn't realize that a thoughtful expression crossed Zoro's face when he looked between the two men, before he seconded Kid's words.

"I better open the door before Sanji wonders why I'm taking so long."

Law seemed to realize that he was holding onto Zoro's hand, and likely tightly, from the look of it. Law slowly let go, his gaze and hand dropping away from the green haired cop as if he had done something wrong. With his gaze on the ground, Law missed the more heated glare that Kid leveled at Zoro when the cop made as if to ruffle Law's hair reassuringly.

Kid glowered at the way Zoro smiled faintly at his actions, and the way that Kid held Law subconsciously closer to his side, despite Law not seeming to be aware of what was going on. Damn, it was very likely that Zoro knew there was at least some attraction, and that was likely why he had insisted on Kid being in the house. And why he and Law would be sharing a room. To bring a sort of distraction to the doctor to take his mind off Zoro.

"Bastard." Kid growled under his breath, drawing a jab in the side from Law. Kid frowned at the other man, "He is for makin' me stay here, doc." And for other reasons that Kid didn't feel like discussing at present. When Zoro headed for the front door of his house, Kid scowled some more in the man's general direction and decided that he did not at all like Law being so damn forlorn. It contrasted with the way the man had been when treating his wounds some time ago. The sarcasm and the occasional indifference. And hell, Kid had even liked that the doctor had been unable to deny enjoying being carried when Kid had helped bring him out of a shitty situation.

"C'mon doc, you said you can walk, so let's get moving so that cop doesn't come back and have to drag us in." That managed to spur Law into movement, and, after letting out a slow sigh, Law let his left arm go around Kid's back.

"You get turned on by muscle, huh?" Kid offered a grin after having felt the very brief caress of Law's fingertips against his back. "'Cause I won't tell ya no if you wanna feel 'em some more." The red head could have sworn he saw Law flash him a smirk, but he couldn't be sure, because Kid was distracted by Zoro yelling into the house through an open front door.

"Oy, twirly brow, get over here!"

"Stop yelling, you shitty cop. I'm right here!"

Kid cracked up over the exchange, and even more from the sight of Sanji's expression going from exasperated fondness to suspicious when he realized that Zoro was not alone.

"What the hell is going on?" Sanji glared at Zoro with his visible eye. "Why the hell are they here?"

"They're going to be staying with us." Zoro stated, and before Sanji could say anything in response to that, the green haired cop gripped the blond by an arm. "Let's go in and talk." Zoro urged Sanji into the house, and waved his free hand at Kid to indicate that he and Law should come in.

"Hey, you can't just say that and not explain." Sanji twisted in Zoro's grip, looking very close to kicking Zoro to get the cop to let go of him. "And you know how I feel about L-hey!" Sanji was cut off when Zoro pressed him against the nearest wall and kissed him firmly, before the green haired cop drew back and looked Sanji in the eye.

"You know that Doflamingo is out to get Law. I explained my reasoning to you when Law was in the hospital." Zoro glanced over his shoulder, and saw that Law and Kid still hadn't come in yet, and turned back to Sanji. "There is nothing between us. I don't know how many times you need to hear it. Law is a friend, and I won't let him come to harm if I can do something about it."

Kid, unaware of the heated exchange occurring in the kitchen, was now having trouble getting Law to enter the house. Mainly because Law dragged his feet as the reality of what was going on seemed to sink in, and he began to murmur.

"I shouldn't be here. They'll get involved too. I can't…I can't lose anyone. Not again."

"We should at least go in the house. Someone might be watching us." Kid didn't know what else to say, so he went for a joke. "And what would the neighbors think?"

"What about the neighbors?" Law turned a confused look to the red haired man holding him up.

"Four men in the house?" Emboldened, Kid decided to pursue teasing Law in favor of avoiding what seemed like a painful topic for the dark haired surgeon. Kid was absurdly pleased when Law huffed and rolled his eyes when he understood what the red head was trying poorly imply.

"There is no need for the neighbors to worry about wild parties or orgies."

"Then let's get out of sight before people start talking and spreadin' rumors." Kid said with a laugh, highly amused that Law had said the word orgy. "You don't seem like the party kind of person, doc." That appeared to be the nudge Law needed to pull himself together and start moving again, and, with Kid's help, they got through the door and into the front entry of the house. Even as Kid reached over to shut and lock the front door, he was racking his brain in an attempt to figure out how the hell he was supposed to get out of this.

"This really is a bad idea." Law murmured, looking around. "And the idea of Luffy and Ace alone in my house is a horrifying concept. No doubt my fridge will be emptied out by the end of the day, if it hasn't been already." Law closed his eyes. "I shudder to think what my heating and electricity bill will look like."

"Luffy and Ace know not to eat your food, Law, but they will turn up the temperature so they don't freeze." Zoro caught Law's words as he joined the other two men in the front entry of the house. The green haired cop gestured to the right. "The guest room's down the hall to the left."

"No it's not, you shitty mosshead. It's the other way." Sanji called out from the other room. "You live in this house and you still don't know where things are?"

"It is not!" Zoro shot back. "I was there earlier putting sheets on the beds. It is to the left."

Sanji appeared and, with a glare at both Kid and Law, took Zoro by the arm and led him down the hall to the right. "It is this way."

"No, it's not."

Kid grinned again. This shit was too funny to watch. Despite Law being obviously reluctant, Kid helped him along the hall after Zoro and Sanji, who were still bickering about the placement of rooms in the house. Kid really wasn't paying much attention, as he was drifting back to figuring out the best way to get out of this situation and go home. Screw the fact that his place was being watched. So long as he was careful to not be ambushed again, Kid would be fine.

"You can let go of me. I can walk on my own." Law's voice had a weary edge to it, along with a faint hint of melancholy as he moved his left arm away from where he'd had it wrapped around Kid's back. "I won't fall over."

Fuck, today was going to be a long day.

"Eustass-ya?"

Kid wasn't sure why Law saying his name like that stirred something inside him, so before he could dwell on it, Kid eased away from Law. The red head doubted that Law could get far on his own, at least not until after he had had some rest. Kid watched Law take a few steps, before he noticed a change, and hastily moved in time to catch Law to prevent him from falling over. Kid had seen the movement before in fighters he'd gone up against in the past, as well as what he himself had experienced on occasion over the years.

"You look like shit." Kid offered in answer to Law giving him a curious look, before the dark haired man frowned and tried to stand on his own again. Kid held tight and waited until Law stopped resisting. "You need to rest some more. You're a surgeon, right? You should know to take it easy. And broken arms are a bitch, especially if you hit it on something falling over."

"See? I was right." Sanji said triumphantly at the end of the hallway.

"I know that. I meant to say the other direction." Zoro retorted.

"No, you didn't. You pointed the other way too." Sanji waved his hands as if fed up with his direction-impaired boyfriend. "Next time, just let me show people around."

"You'd show Law to the room without complaint?" Zoro asked, a faint smile tugging his lips.

"What was that?" Sanji glared even as Zoro's smile became more pronounced.

Kid stepped to one side, taking Law with him to allow Zoro and Sanji to pass by as they started to bitch up another storm with one another, though Zoro paused long enough to nod at the room at the far end of the hall.

"Beds are made up. Get some rest. We can talk later."

Kid frowned as he watched the cop walk off after Sanji, and frowned some more when he caught Law watch Zoro walk away with that same damn melancholic look that had been reflected in his voice earlier. Damn, the doctor had it bad for an ex, even after they'd broken up after how long? No doubt it hurt to watch Zoro be around another person like that and-

Shit.

"Fucking hell." Kid muttered to himself, grateful that Law didn't appear to be listening to him as he steered the two of them to the bedroom. As soon as Law and Kid passed through the doorway, they found the two beds that Zoro had mentioned earlier in the car.

"Zoro-ya…" Law didn't seem to realize that he'd spoken, and instead broke away from Kid, carefully walking over to the bed nearest the wall. Law rested a hand on the sheets for a moment, appearing to be lost in thought, before he shook his head and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Kid had no idea what to do in this situation. Law was definitely distracted over the thought of his ex-boyfriend making the beds, and as stupid as it was, it made Kid angry that Zoro still held so much sway over Law. That the doctor was having a hard time getting over the other man. Kid stomped across the room despite the fact that it bothered his right knee, before he plopped down on the edge of the other bed with an aggravated huff. Relationships were never his strong point. A casual fuck was easier, as he had been thinking before, as there was no need to bring emotion into the equation. Being too invested in a person could become tiring.

Kid was in danger of becoming completely invested, if he wasn't already there due to the infatuation. The red head found, to his horror, that he wasn't resisting the idea as much as he should have been.

A silence fell over the room, each man with his own thoughts, until the continued silence seemed to be more than Law could handle at present.

"Why does Zoro-ya want you here?" Law questioned, echoing one of Kid's earlier questions to him. "I understand why he brought me."

"You don't know?" It was Kid's turn to wear a look of surprise.

"No, that is why I am asking you." Law said in return, clearly perplexed. "Why, do you know? Did Zoro-ya tell you?"

"Dunno." Kid said after a moment's thought. Then, with a grin, added, "Maybe I'm supposed to keep you and Sanji from killing one another when the cop isn't around."

"Try again." Law said, his voice indicating he was not at all amused by Kid's words. "You already know a bit about the predicament I am in. What about you? What's going on with you? Or is it something that you can't talk about if I'm not involved?"

"I guess I am involved in your shit now, aren't I? Thanks for the reminder." Kid ran a hand through his hair, pausing when he hit the goggles holding the hair out of his eyes. "I hope you appreciate me returning the favor of saving your ass, even if I did get banged up a little in the process." Kid indicated the bandages around his left forearm.

"I did appreciate not being brought to Doflamingo with a broken arm that he likely wouldn't have allowed me have treated right away." Law met Kid's amber gaze before he dropped it and looked off to the side, "While you were taking me away from those who were…harassing me, I feel that I was loopy from the pain and…" Law raised his head and frowned at Kid seriously, "Did I kiss you?"

"What?" Kid spluttered, not expecting the words. Aware of the flush rising on his cheeks, Kid grumbled his response. "It mighta been offered, but you passed out on me before giving me one." Kid was about to say more when he started at Law rising off the edge of the bed and nearly falling over. Kid was half to his feet from the bed, in time to catch Law, and prevent him from hurting himself further. Kid let out an aggravated sigh.

"Hell, if you can barely walk you shouldn't be getting up so quickly." Kid carefully arranged Law back on his feet, though his hands lingered on Law's shoulders, as if waiting to make sure doctor was steady.

"I forgot that I am not feeling as well as I thought, especially if I can't even keep my balance." Law sighed wearily, as if he found his body tiresome.

"Doc?" Kid froze in place when Law closed the distance between them, an unreadable expression on his face. Kid was rather distracted by the golden irises as Law looked him in the eyes. Kid's hands went to Law's sides, as he didn't want to risk jostling the other man's wounded arm. "Well, doc, what's goin' on in that head of yours?"

"What do you mean?" Law seemed to be studying Kid as if trying to read him like he would a textbook of some kind.

It was a bit weird.

"I was wonderin' what you were doing." Kid prompted.

"Ah. That. I'm thanking you." Law said simply as he leaned up and pecked Kid on the cheek. While Kid remained frozen in place by the gesture, Law stepped back out of Kid's hold on his waist and slowly made his way back to the bed.

Kid was still processing the fact that Law had gotten so close and damn it, the red haired mechanic had been expecting a kiss elsewhere.

Law carefully lay down on the bed and that seemed to snap Kid back into reality as he pouted in the dark haired man's direction

"Hey, I got cut up and shot at for your lanky ass. At least make it a kiss on the lips." Kid protested, even though he merely sat his own ass back down on his own bed.

Law retaliated by giving Kid the middle finger, though the dark haired doctor wore a smirk.

"I guess I should tell you that you aren't involved in the crap I am in." Kid leered at Law the longer the middle finger was still pointed in his direction. "Not yet, anyway, so long as you don't show up with me at the places I go to late at night."

"Charming. And do I even want to know what these places are?" Law seemed to know he was annoying Kid with his middle finger and kept it steady.

"Head out of the gutter, doc. I don't go bar hopping much anymore. To picking anyone up." Kid laughed at the sight of Law closing his eyes. "I go do some fighting on the side."

"With your physique, I assume the people you face don't stand much of a chance."

"Nope." Kid said cheerfully, pleased. He did well most of the time, anyway, but Law didn't have to know about the losses.

"And yet you were drugged one of these times." Law half turned his head as he opened his eyes again. "Did that have to do with those fights?"

"Keep that finger up, doc, and I might just bite it."

The middle finger stayed steady, and Law merely raised a brow at Kid, expecting an answer to his question.

"Maybe it did."

The middle finger vanished, and Law settled on the bed again.

Kid deflated a bit, displeased now that Law seemed to be not interested in speaking anymore. Or the fact that he didn't rise to the bait of Kid offering to bite him. In the meantime, the red haired mechanic decided that Law was an interesting individual after all when he wasn't actively pining after the cop. Kid was silent for a few minutes before he shook his head. "If you do get tangled up in my shit for some reason, I'll let you know."

No response.

"Doc?" Kid looked Law over closely and swore in disbelief over the fact that doctor was asleep. "At least listen to me answer your damn question." Kid muttered sourly. A ping from his cell distracted the red haired man from Law's sudden fall into slumber. "What now?" Kid griped, taking the phone out of his pocket to check the message. The exasperation he felt vanished in an instant, replaced with a feeling of dread.

 _Fight's a few days early. Tonight at 8. The place from the last match. Be there or you'll have another visit to your shop, with more dire consequences._

Another text pinged in, and Kid stared at the amount being offered for winning that night. It was higher than was usual, indicating that it was not just a bunch of nobodies that were going to in the arena, but fighters who had established themselves over the course of several years. Kid briefly closed his eyes. Dammit. He did not need this right now, not when he wasn't at his best. The red haired mechanic opened his eyes and glanced over to Law, before he stared at his phone, and texted a not so polite response that he would be there.

At the text acknowledging his words, Kid tucked his phone back in a pocket and withheld a groan. Fuck, Killer was right. He really ought to have read the fine print, and stopped while he had still been ahead, and not allowed himself to drown further and further into debt to these sons of bitches. That the arena had been picked up by Kaido made everything that much worse and Kid wondered if he would even be able to leave after he did pay off his debts.

Kid stretched, testing his limbs, and frowned at the response. He was a bit stiff, mainly due to inactivity from his various injuries that were still in the process of healing. He could damn well slug someone just fine, but he would have to be careful about it, which wasn't something that could really be done. The arena bouts were ordinarily fast and dirty, each man making quick moves to try and bring the fight to an end as quickly as possible. Kid frowned at his bandaged arm. It wouldn't overly hamper him, but it would be a bitch and a half if someone directly punched where the bandages, running the risk of reopening the wound in some places.

"Shit." Kid muttered under his breath as he wandered over to a mirror in the room. Kid studied his face, eyeing the damning evidence of where his face had been slashed with a knife. He had been able to take the bandages off, but there were still stiches beneath a bandage patch on his cheek. He could see well enough, but his left cheek was going to be fair game for some asshole to try and punch tonight, because any and all dirty tactics would be used to win. Kid shifted on his feet, briefly stilling when another problem made itself known to him.

His fucking right knee was still sore as fuck if he moved it wrong or stayed on it for too long. It twanged painfully at times, reminding him of the jackass that had ground a foot against it. Deciding to put it out of his mind, Kid instead turned his attention to his left wrist and the brace that was over it. He could move the wrist more or less just fine, but the red head knew that he would have to take the brace off to fight. It would be a red flag otherwise that would clue people in on knowing it wasn't just his face that had been injured. Kid couldn't, however, put too much pressure on the wrist, which meant punching with it was out of the question. And if he only used his right hand and left leg tonight, it was going to be pretty damn obvious that he wasn't at his best, and some of the more desperate fuckers would take full advantage of that fact.

Damn.

Kid snorted softly at the mess he had gotten himself in to. Whatever. He knew other people were likely to be worse off than him, and that would give him an edge in at least a few throw downs. So long as none of the goons that had jumped him in the mechanic shop let slip about his wrist and leg, Kid would be able to make do. If the beans had been spilled, however, it would give all the fighters an excuse to go after the weakened, still recovering limbs. Kid scowled over the very idea, even if he himself took advantage of any seeable weaknesses. With as final look at the mirror, Kid decided that there was no hiding the scars that would be on his face.

"Shit." Kid said again, quieter this time as he turned away from the mirror. He really shouldn't go tonight at all, but with the threat of another shake down he wouldn't be able to do anything about it if he were caught off guard. Kid was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it was his own doing. But the payoff for winning that night would take a good chuck off the debt he owed, and the idea of getting closer to being done with these shit fights outweighed having his previous injuries aggravated. Dealing with his banged up body was just something that Kid would have to deal with if worse came to worse and everyone and their mother knew about it and kicked the shit out of him tonight.

Kid vaguely heard Sanji and Zoro arguing in another part of the house, and knew that he would be able to sneak off. At the very least, no one would notice right away that he was gone, and by then, Kid hoped he would be out of sight. And hope that the cop would just chalk it up to Kid not wanting to be in his house. If Kid failed and lost tonight, at the very least he wouldn't have involved other people in his shit this time around. The red haired man figured that Killer would have been proud of him. Shaking his head in amusement over the thought, Kid approached Law, and stared down at the slumbering doctor for a moment. Not really knowing why, he snagged a blanket from a nearby chair and draped it over Law, and watched as the doctor seemed to settle on the bed more comfortably.

Fuck.

Kid couldn't deny for much longer that he had more than a passing interest in Law, even if it was one born more out of curiosity than lust, which was a first for Kid. The red haired mechanic looked away. He needed to get going before he texted the fucker back and told them to fuck off. Kid resisted because he knew it was likely that he'd be jumped and beaten to the point of death, just to be taught not to cheek the people that had you by the balls. With one final look back at Law, Kid couldn't resist going closer and ruffling the doctor's hair.

"Don't go getting abducted while I'm gone." Kid muttered, though he froze in place when Law sleepily moved and his left hand caught his. Kid thought Law woke up, but Law's steady breathing indicated otherwise. As Kid tried to figure out how to get Law to let go of him, he heard the other man mutter a few nonsensical words under his breath, the audible one being 'Zoro-ya.'

Kid twitched, and succeeded in freeing his hand. Scowling, Kid removed his goggles to run his hands through his hair in frustration. Shit. It pissed him off so much that Law was even uttering the damn cop's name in his sleep. Kid furtively looked toward the door, and, not hearing any footsteps, leaned over and kissed Law on the lips before he could think about whether or not it was a good idea. Earlier, when Kid had been looking at Law, he'd seen the brief hesitation in Law's movements before the dark haired man had pecked him on the cheek. Kid wasn't sure if Law had been planning to kiss him on the lips or not, but Kid didn't press his luck with the kiss he gave the doctor now and made it quick. Kid leaned in close to Law's ear, and grazed his teeth along Law's earlobe, near the earrings, which drew a faint sound from the dark haired doctor. Kid left it at that, though he breathed some words in Law's ear despite knowing that the other man was still fast asleep.

"I was serious about not getting your ass abducted again. Can't do anythin' about it if I'm not around to see it happen." Kid slipped out of the room before he tried to sneak in another kiss, and he was out the front door before Zoro or Sanji noticed the movement. Squaring his shoulders, Kid walked along the sidewalk, swinging his goggles idly and pointedly ignoring the soreness of his right knee the longer he walked along.

Tonight was going to be a bitch, and he had less than twelve hours to be ready for it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: I hope that it is not to frustrating to have Law pine after Zoro so much and to have Kid being infatuated and not doing too much about it but I really wanted to try to write a slow-burn fic.

So don't worry; Law will eventually realize that Kid would be more than happy to try a relationship with him, as averse as Kid is to the idea right now.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I 'm on a roll with this fic, so here's another update. And FYI, Law has a distressing dream in the beginning of this chapter.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Law felt that he ought to have remained awake, due to the fact that he couldn't rest very well to begin with. Law wanted to tell Kid not to leave the room, in the event that dozing off caused him distress later on. Though Law didn't want Kid to interpret his intentions wrong, the doctor really did want someone around. It was something he'd caved in and told Zoro about. To please wake him up in the event he got drawn into memories of the past, and couldn't wake himself up.

It was going to be one of those nights, and Law almost, almost hoped that Kid had at least left the room, because Law had no control over whether or not he would end up screaming while locked in his own mind. Sleep brought no relief to Law as the years went by, as even in his dreams, he couldn't escape past events that had caused his erratic sleeping pattern. And now, due to his debt to Doflamingo being owed and unable to be delayed any longer, a reminder of what could have been had Kid not helped him invaded his dreams the longer he slept.

It was always the same place, no matter how many years had gone by. A decrepit building on the outskirts of a city far away from where Law now lived. But the abandoned building resembled eerily the one Doflamingo had had his men bring Law to recently, and it wasn't lost on the doctor that the older man intended for it to bring back some painful memories.

Even in the dream, it was with a sense of dread that Law found himself not on a chair and bound, but chained to a wall by his wrists, his ankles hobbled by chain that prevented him from fully resting his feet on the ground. The worst of it was that he was blindfolded almost immediately after he'd taken stock of his surroundings. And then, as it always happened in these nightmares, the voices started, merging those of the distant past with the not so long ago ones.

" _The boss ain't gonna keep waiting for you to show up, so he told us to bring you to him."_

" _Though we gotta teach you a bit of a lesson first."_

 _Law shook against the wall where he was chained. He knew from what he'd seen in the past what was going to happen. And he could do nothing to prevent it. All Law could hope for was that he would wake up from all of this, and soon. The laughing and jeering started around him, drawing nearer, until something whistled through the air, and a crack against his right forearm rang out followed by a sharp hot flash of pain._

 _Broken bones._

Law was dreaming. He knew he was. He had to be. It was a dream, a nightmare, of his recent kidnapping, when his arm had been broken. Only his psyche decided to make it worse by not bringing Kid into the equation, which left Law to the mercy of his captors.

" _I don't think the doctor here's gotten the message."_

" _He's thrashing, hold him still."_

" _Keep screaming, doc, no one can hear you."_

 _They kept breaking bone. Bit by agonizing bit, the men struck Law's limbs, shattering and cracking bone, and amidst the cruel laughter and taunts, there was nothing that Law could do but feel the sharp pain over and over. Law would cry out time and again, stooping to begging raggedly as he began to lose feeling in his limbs, but to no avail. There wasn't anyone coming to save him this time, no one who could prevent his past from happening, and bringing him to where he was now. Law felt hot tears begin to roll down his cheeks from beneath the blindfold at the abuse being visited upon him._

" _I think we're gonna have to have him go for a swim."_

" _He needs to be punished for what he's done."_

" _It's gotta be nice and slow. To make him know we don't appreciate him toying with us this whole time."_

 _Cackles met those words, and Law heard the chains being undone, and his limp body being seized by those who were tormenting him._

" _Who'd have thought he was the traitor all along?"_

 _No._

 _Not again._

 _It had been so long since he'd dreamed this far. Ordinarily Law would have been awake by now. It was too much. It was far too uncomfortably close to something that had happened in the past, though not to him. It had happened to someone he had cared about. But he couldn't wake up._

"Law?" A voice partially broke into the nightmare, but it didn't seem to match what was going on. Law shifted in his sleep, desperate to wake up, but the searing agony continued on, and he was trapped. Trapped in a dream that was half his past and half that of another.

 _Someone forced his broken body onto the ground. Law choked a breathless scream of protest, but he was ignored. Instead, he was seized roughly by the back of his neck. The dream shifted, and Law's skin crawled when it was Doflamingo's voice that spoke close to his ear._

" _I don't tolerate traitors, brother. But I'm sure you already knew that when you started to play your little game."_

" _Time for a dip, traitor. Don't go dying on us straight away." Doflamingo's voice was replaced by some nameless man, and Law couldn't even beg for it to stop when someone forced his head underwater. He couldn't breathe, and the longer his head was held underwater, the more desperate he became for air. Was this what Corazon had experienced? A loss of control, and being denied any relief from pain. That Corazon had lost his right to choose when and how he died, because Doflamingo had caught on to him?_

 _Was this what Doflamingo would do to him, should Law not go willingly to pay his debt?_

 _Law lost the battle and took water in, only to have his head wrenched away from the water. Spluttering and coughing up the water, Law heard the same laughter he'd heard so many times in his dreams. And then, in a rare moment that didn't happen often in these nightmares, Law found his voice. But when he cried out though the agony that tore through his shattered body, it wasn't himself that he begged for._

"Stop it! Leave Cora alone! Please stop…"

"Law." The voice that had begun to cut into the nightmare was serious now, and a hand gripped the doctor's left shoulder to give it a light, careful shake. "Law, you need to wake up."

It was too much.

The actual touch drove Law out of his nightmare and into reality with a harsh, choked cry.

"Cora!"

Shaking, Law scrunched himself defensively against the headboard of the bed he was on, despite the fact that it jostled his wounded arm. Was he safe now? He was awake, wasn't he? His limbs were intact, for the most part, and not broken. He wasn't drowning. Law shivered involuntarily as he sucked in several short breaths. Would he ever truly be safe, now that time had run out for paying Doflamingo what he felt was owed to him? Law squeezed his eyes shut when someone grabbed him by the arm again, and let out a sharp breath, expecting more pain despite the fact that he was now awake.

"Don't." Law hated how hoarse his voice sounded. "Please don't." It was almost as if...as if he'd been screaming…

"Law. Look at me."

The voice registered now. It was Zoro, but Law couldn't bring himself to look at his ex. He couldn't. He couldn't handle his feelings toward the other man and deal with his nightmare at the same time. To deal with the pain of losing Corazon. It was something that would always haunt him, as would the demise of his family. Law remained against the headboard until he allowed himself to be coaxed away by Zoro, and was urged to let his right arm relax in the sling. Law managed, barely, as his heart was still racing, and the pain from his mending arm reminded him of the snap of breaking bone.

"A nightmare?" Zoro asked, sounding concerned. "You said 'Cora.' I thought you said that you were done having those nightmares."

"Being kidnapped didn't help." Law admitted softly, still unable to look up at the green haired officer. "I presume it began as what could have happened should Esutass-ya not have shown up when he did." Law closed his eyes, shuddering. "Then, they began to break more than just my arm in the dream. They wouldn't stop. They just let me scream and beg them not to." Law raised his eyes to meet Zoro's, knowing that he'd opened up to the other man about his past more than any other. "I was chained to a wall, Zoro-ya. I heard Doflamingo talking to Cora. It turned into experiencing what he did to his brother, before I was discovered and taken away." Law hadn't realized that he had started to cry in his sleep, but he certainly felt the tears now. "It was when Doflamingo told me that I…that I would have to pay his brother's debt as well." Not something Law had opened up about before, but it was better than saying what his own payment to Doflamingo was to be. Law didn't realize the tears continued to fall, until one of Zoro's hands brushed his cheek with a finger.

"You're all right now." Zoro said, hand falling away when he noticed Law flinch at his touch. "No one will get to you in this house. Not while I'm here." Zoro frowned. "But you still haven't told me why you started having those dreams again. This isn't the first time, is it?"

"No, it's not. It was just worse this time around." Law was aware that he was likely still crying, and stubbornly ran the back of his left hand over his eyes to banish the tears. "I think I told you, but when I sleep alone, and know I'm alone, those thoughts close in on me, and bring the nightmares. When I was with you, I felt…safer, so I didn't have them as frequently." Law let out a helpless little laugh. "You'd just wake me up and hold me when I did have them, and tell me to go back to sleep. And I would." Law tried to make the tears stop, but he suddenly found himself enveloped in a warm hug. That got the tears flowing again. Dammit. Law couldn't understand why Zoro continued to comfort him physically; it would only cause him trouble were Sanji to see, and the dark haired doctor didn't want to cause Zoro any trouble. He'd left for that very reason, and now here Law was, getting the very person he didn't want to be involved.

"Turn your head off, Law." Zoro held the dark haired doctor close, "Breathe. Your heart's beating too fast."

Because of you, Law wanted to say that, but with the solid grip Zoro had on him, the dark haired doctor gave in. Law was still too weak around the other man, even though they were no longer together, and sagged against Zoro's chest. Law allowed himself to be comforted, because he was reminded about just how much Zoro had spoiled him with how they had rested together, especially on slow days when they both had time off. How much it had helped Law keep the demons of his past at bay. That physical closeness of another person that Law tended to distance himself from, even though now he knew he craved to have it with someone again. But not now. Becoming too close to someone…it hurt when that person was taken away from him. Though in the case of the green haired officer that held him at present, the parting had been mutual, even though Law had done it in an attempt to protect him. It didn't mean that the parting didn't hurt. It did. And still did, even though Law knew he had to move on. The dark haired doctor stilled when he felt one of Zoro's hands pat his back reassuringly.

"Breathe, Law. And seriously, shut that racing mind of yours off. You'll only wear yourself out."

"Sanji will strangle me if he sees us." Law couldn't help himself. He couldn't stop thinking but at least this way he was thinking about his current situation, and not a nightmare inducing one that had come from his injury.

"Don't worry about it." Zoro let out an aggravated sigh. "I was kind of hoping that Kid would have stuck around."

"He left?" Law frowned against Zoro's shoulder. "He was still here when I fell asleep." Law did not bring up the fact that he had a very brief, bizarre dream of the red haired mechanic before he fell into the nightmare.

"I have Sanji out looking for him. I figured that he needed a distraction." Zoro sounded like he had smiled. "Even though Kid isn't involved in your troubles, he has some of his own that are very similar to yours.

"He owes a debt to someone?" Law was silent for a moment. "Where would he have gone?"

"I should have been paying better attention." Zoro sighed, not answering the question.

"Those papers you gave Eustass-ya in the car…" Law frowned in thought, "Did they have something to do with his debt?"

"Did Kid tell you that he fights?" Zoro asked in return. "That that was why you'd found him on the sidewalk that night?"

"He may have mentioned something to the effect of doing some fighting on the side." Law couldn't exactly remember much of the conversation. He was still in quite a lot of pain, mainly from his sore arm, and couldn't remember much of his conversation with Kid. Apart from kissing the red head on the cheek as thanks for helping him from being brought to Doflamingo with a broken arm. Receiving a pout from Kid over the fact that it hadn't been on the lips had been rather…endearing, almost. Law couldn't help but smirk at the memory, and suddenly, being held by Zoro didn't seem to choke him up so much.

Strange.

"Doing better?" Zoro asked. He knew full well that Law would never be over what had happened to Cora. Or the unknown of what happened, as Law didn't actually see Doflamingo's younger brother die.

"Marginally." Law returned, and felt the police officer draw away, releasing him from the hug. Law noticed Zoro had his cell phone in his hand now, and quickly reached out with his left hand to prevent the other man from dialing. "Eustass-ya isn't going to respond to you, Zoro-ya."

"And he will to you?" Zoro smiled at the harried look Law gave him. "I guess Kid did help you." The green haired man went over to the dresser next to the door, and picked up another phone off the top of it.

Law's cell phone.

"I put his number into your cell already." Zoro held out the phone. "I figured that you would say something like that. But if he doesn't respond, I can have some of the others go and look for him."

Others, which meant Zoro's friends.

"Or I'll go myself, and Ace and Luffy can hang out here until I come back." Zoro let out a laugh at the horrified look the dark haired doctor fixed him with. "Come on, they're not that bad. They just adopted you as their friend because you saved their lives."

Law looked at the bed, feeling like that was a bad thing now. Not the lifesaving part, of course. Law just didn't want anyone to get hurt for something he'd done to himself. It was why he had distanced himself from his own friends, so that they wouldn't become entangled in his problems, and become targets of Doflamingo. Though from the older man's words, they may very well already be involved. There had not been any word from Penguin or Shachi as of late, and that could become worrying as the days went by.

"Besides, I may not have to leave at all if Kid will answer a text or call from you." Zoro reached out and placed the cell phone next to Law. "Let me know what you find out. I'm going to call Sanji and see if he's had any luck."

Law watched Zoro exit the room, before he sighed and retrieved his phone. He couldn't do anything right now, apart from recover from his injury. He couldn't perform surgeries with one arm in a sling, so he was stuck. Awkwardly, Law settled his phone where he could press the screen easily. He located Kid's number, and gave it a call, figuring he would find out quickly whether or not. Law picked the phone up and held it to an ear, frowning a little bit when the call was picked up after only two rings.

Intriguing, that.

' _Hey doc, didn't know you_ _had_ my number.' Kid drawled, sounding amused. _'Miss me already?'_

"Zoro-ya is quite intent on finding where you have gone off to." Law said dryly.

' _You don't sound as out of it now.'_ The red haired man responded.

"Are you planning on coming back?" Law hated that he sounded hopeful, and damn if Kid didn't pick up on it.

' _So you_ do _miss me.'_ Kid sounded pleased, before he let out a frustrated huff, _'Too bad I can't come back right away. But I will be there later. Probably.'_

"Probably?" Law repeated skeptically. He didn't like the sound of that. "Are you going to go do something that involves getting beaten up?"

' _Hey, have a little faith in me, huh? I can take care of myself. Just don't get kidnapped while I'm gone, got it?'_

"Didn't you say that to me already?" Law thought it had been a dream…but perhaps not?

' _Maybe I did.'_ Kid hedged, sounding like he was trying to avoid talking about it. _'But don't let that cop come get me. I didn't run away, exactly. More like…I had something to take care of."_

"You left without saying anything."

' _I did talk to you. But I guess that you were asleep.'_ Kid cursed under his breath at something, and spoke hastily. _'See you later, doc.'_

"Eustass-ya, wait-" Law fell silent when he realized Kid had hung up. When Law tried to call the red haired mechanic back, it went straight to voicemail. It was likely that the red head had turned his phone off, and to Law, that meant that the red head _was_ going to be getting himself into trouble. It likely had something to do with the debt he apparently owed, as hinted at by Zoro.

Law rose from the bed and exited the room in search of Zoro.

-x-x-x-

Kid had risked going to his apartment to change clothes and hunker down, but before long, he had to get his ass in gear and get to the place of the fight. Kid really ought to have resisted picking up the call from Law but he couldn't. After he'd hung up, with Law mentioning the cop might go looking for him, Kid shut his phone off completely. Kid figured it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that Zoro would try and track him down though his cell phone's location. Though why the cop hadn't tried earlier was beyond him. Kid also left the phone behind in his apartment out of a sense of paranoia that Zoro already knew where he had gone. Still, Kid couldn't help but still feel rather surprised that Law had contacted him. The red head figured that Zoro had to have given him the number, but after Kid had ended the call, an unnamed emotion trickled through his mind.

The red head shut the feeling down very quickly.

Kid couldn't afford to be distracted. He had to be focused tonight. Kid couldn't be thinking about what was going through the doctor's mind. The red haired mechanic shook his head and turned his thoughts away from the dark haired doctor to the upcoming fight. The red haired mechanic left his apartment and walked down the quiet street, his body thrumming with barely concealed excitement. Despite the shittiness of the situation, Kid loved a good fight, and so long as he came out on top and won, he had nothing to worry about. Kid took a bit longer than he would have liked to get to where he was going, but his knee was being a bitch and protesting all of the walking he had done that day, it couldn't be helped. Kid was barely on time, and he had to resist the urge to punch the shifty bastard at the entrance when he opened his mouth.

"Cuttin' it pretty close, aren't you, ginger?"

Fucker.

The next time Kid saw that slim figure who'd talked down on him in his shop, he'd punch him in the teeth given the opportunity. Even since that asshole had called him that, a bunch of other sorry bastards had taken to calling Kid 'ginger' whenever they could, just to rile him up.

"First fight's starting soon." The man added, as Kid brushed by him.

Once inside the dark building, Kid's body was tense as he rode the nervous energy and he joined the other sorry bastards who'd racked up debt. Kid had the uneasy feeling that he was in another ring owned by Kaido, and it wasn't a particularly good thought, but Kid told himself that he wouldn't have anything to worry about. A few more wins, and his debt could be paid off, and he'd be free to either continue fighting or get his ass out of there while he was still whole. Some fighters around him were missing limbs, or were bandaged up as Kid was, and it was fear of retribution of someone showing up to shake you down for money that kept them coming back.

Kid ground his teeth as the time went at a crawl as each fighter was called into the makeshift ring. It wasn't pleasant, waiting on pins and needles over the thought of who you were going to face. Not to mention just being there in the first place was an unpleasant reminder about the shakedown he'd received.

Son of a bitch.

Kid had to win tonight.

He _had_ to.

"Eustass Kid!" The blared voice from the speaker phone echoed out.

Kid squared his shoulders and shoved his way through the jeering crowd, prepared to beat down any son of a bitch that thought they could overpower him. He would have to make this fast, to hide the fact that even though he thought his knee was fine, it wasn't. No doubt Kid was going to have to ice or heat the knee when this was all over with. Kid stopped dead in the middle of the makeshift ring the moment he recognized the man standing across from him.

Shit.

It was Bellamy, and from the smile on the other man's face, word of Kid's little beat down had obviously reached his ears.

"You sure you should be here, Kid? Word is that you got the shit beat out of you over a week back."

Fuck, tonight was going to suck ass, and Kid knew without a doubt he was going to be fucked over by the time this was all over with. Either he won and would hobble off with his winnings to go lick his wounds, or he'd lose, and who knew what would happen to him then, if he wasn't able to defend himself.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

This was not good, at all.

"Looks like this will be over with pretty quick." Bellamy looked entirely too pleased to be facing him, like the blond was looking forward to beating the shit out of the red haired mechanic.

"In your dreams." Kid offered with bared teeth.

These matches were going to hurt like a motherfucker, and Kid only had himself to blame for his situation as he prepared for a long and likely pain-filled night.


	9. Chapter 9

Kid hated the way that the crowd around him had gotten louder. Clearly, this was a match that everyone had been looking forward to, though Bellamy appeared to think otherwise. It pissed Kid off to think he was being thought of as weak because of something that had happened over a week ago.

"Want to get this over with?" Bellamy taunted. "Or do you want to give up now? You look like you won't be able to stand for long."

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" Kid ignored the unease he felt, because shit, he knew that he was in for a hard night. From the louder cheers and jeers that erupted from the crowd at his and Bellamy's words, everyone did know about Kid's unfortunate shakedown, and more worryingly, of his injuries. Kid sneered at the man across from him. "I think you're all talk, jackass."

"Those scars are an improvement, aren't they?" Bellamy directed to the crowd. "Maybe we can take him seriously in the ring now."

There was a smattering of hoots and hollers intermixed with laughter.

"I can give you some scars, if you'd like." Kid retorted, feeling his anger rising at the teasing from the crowd. He didn't give a fuck what he looked like, or how many scars he accumulated. But Kid wouldn't stand for assholes making fun of his appearance. "How about I give you one on your face, for starters?"

"Why don't you try? If you can even tag me tonight, that is." Bellamy laughed. "You'll probably end up missing me a lot 'cause you can't see properly through that eye."

Kid knew he shouldn't have allowed himself to be goaded, but fuck, he hated being made fun of. The red head hated even more being laughed at, so he went right for Bellamy, ready to punch the smug look off the son of a bitch's face. Too late did Kid remember that the bastard knew about his sore knee, because Bellamy dodged the swing and lashed out with a foot, landing a solid hit to Kid's right knee.

The red haired mechanic went down with a curse but he had enough presence of mind to roll away and back, tuning out the crowd around him as he zeroed in on Bellamy.

"Maybe you should just forfeit. We both know you can't do shit when you're recovering from those kind of injuries."

Kid offered a bit of a crazed smile. Bellamy wouldn't let an opponent forfeit. Not without beating them up first before the person dragged themselves off, or were dragged off by unofficial refs. So it was another laugh at his expense, because the blond knew that Kid wouldn't forfeit even if he had broken bones. Kid clenched his right fist tight. He was going to wipe that smug smile off one way or another, but it would have to be quick.

"You shouldn't be here." Bellamy taunted again, feigning a punch toward Kid's face, only to land a punishing fist into his abdomen, doubling the red head over.

Kid knew what was coming, and jerked his head back desperately to avoid having Bellamy's knee smash into his nose. Kid had had his nose broken enough times, and could do without another one. Kid couldn't avoid the strike altogether, and grunted in pain as his bandaged cheek took the hit instead. Kid swung his right fist in retaliation, and landed a solid blow to Bellamy's own cheek in retaliation.

The two men stumbled apart, cursing and ramping up for their next strike.

Kid fell into a rhythm of feigning and stepping around his opponent, allowing the noise to fade into the background as he looked for openings. Seconds dragged by, and before long, both Kid and Bellamy were breathing heavily. Neither had yet landed too damaging a blow, but Kid knew, as did the muscular blond facing him, that it was only a matter of time before Kid would tire out and make a mistake.

A minute later and Kid was on the floor of the makeshift ring, spitting out blood as the jeers came back full force. Ordinarily, ending up on the ground meant that the fight was at an end, but not in this particular kind of place. Kid barely rolled onto his side to avoid a kick to his side. It was Kid's first mistake of the night.

Pain exploded through Kid's head as Bellamy pivoted and caught him against the side of his head with his other foot, dangerously close to the red head's temple. The strike nearly took Kid down and out, but at the snigger that came from Bellamy overhead, Kid saw red. With a snarl, the red haired mechanic shoved past the agony shooting through his head to tackle Bellamy.

Fucker dared to laugh at him one too many times.

Kid wouldn't be held responsible for what followed, and with a savage grin, began to pummel Bellamy with both of his fists despite the fact that he knew he had had to be careful with his left wrist. But Kid was too far gone in his rage to allow something like that to bother him. Instead, he focused on beating the piece of shit he got pinned beneath him, and no one watching bothered to step in.

Not right away.

When two other men leapt into the makeshift ring, it was to secure Kid's arms and drag him away from Bellamy, who had gone limp a punch or three ago.

Despite knowing in the back of his mind that the match was over, Kid still strained against the men who held him back. At least until a familiar slim figure appeared before him. Kid briefly stilled, pain-filled mind trying to place the man, and when he realized it was the spokesmen of the group that had jumped him in his shop, Kid's rage transferred to him. Skinny fuck was lucky he was restrained at present.

"Not bad, ginger." The man taunted, clearly knowing that Kid wished to strike him, "Though you do remember that you're not supposed to kill your opponent, right?" The man dared to step forward and pat Kid's nearest shoulder, "After all, most of you idiots have a shit ton of debt to pay back, so unless you wanna pay Bellamy's, calm the fuck down until your next match, yeah?"

"You gonna get in the ring any time soon?" Kid hated how heavily he was breathing, what with the way his chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to get it under control. It didn't bode well for the rest of the evening.

"Nah, not tonight." The man grinned crookedly. "But you still got some life in you, so I went ahead and told the announcer to move your next match up sooner."

Kid longed to do something, anything, to take out his frustrations, but knew better than to do it at present. He'd learned over the years that it wasn't good to goad some of these assholes, no matter how much he wanted to.

"See you later, ginger, if you win tonight. Gotta get payment from you, ya know." The man vanished into the surrounding crowd, and Kid reluctantly allowed himself to be led out of the ring, to take a breather. When he was seated, Kid realized just how shitty he felt, and the way he felt his vision blurred now and again from the knock to the head earlier.

Not good.

-x-x-x-

Hours later…

-x-x-x-

Kid's third and last opponent of the night was half dragged and half carried out of the ring, and the crowd began to disperse now that the entertainment for the night was over with. No one lingered longer than was necessary as of late, due to the police beginning to stick their noses into the business of finding and shutting down the underground fighting rings. No one wanted to be caught, as the consequence wasn't always being caught by the cops. Kaido buying into the rings was a big factor, as no one wanted to find out what would happen should someone ruin the income that came in.

"Not bad, ginger."

Kid twitched from where he was still standing in the ring, but he didn't rise to the bait, even when the speaker came up alongside him.

"You lucked out, and even beat Bellamy up. Bastard needed to be taken down a notch or two. He'd been boasting too much the past few weeks." The man held out a plain white envelope. "You managed to make a dent in your debt. And like we said before, your fee to enter was doubled tonight. But you get the rest." The man waited until Kid picked the envelope out of his grasp, and stepped discreetly out of the red head's reach. "Since the cops seem to be breathing down our necks lately, we're gonna have to have the next round further out." A pause, and then a flash of crooked teeth. "Though you got pretty banged up this time around, so maybe that's good for you. Maybe take a bit of a break."

Kid barely held his tongue about the breakdown at his shop, and could tell that the other man knew what he had wanted to say.

"Well, make sure you keep your trap shut about this, yeah?" The man turned and waked away, a bit quicker than was necessary. It was only when Kid was alone, and sirens began wailing in the distance that he realized what the other man meant.

Shit.

Someone had called the cops, and those assholes had left some of the more injured men behind to try and slow the cops down.

Including Kid himself.

Fuck that.

Kid had told Law that he'd be back at Zoro's place that night, so being in a jail cell wasn't in his plans. Kid ignored the pain he felt from his knee and wrist and now other places on his body from the matches that night, and left the building. Kid made his way down the sidewalk as quickly as he could manage, racking his brains for an alley to duck down to wait out the cops that would soon swarm the building he had just vacated. Kid thought to give Killer a call, until he remembered that he had left his cell back at the apartment.

Dammit.

Kid felt like shit and the longer he stood on his feet, the more agony began to flow throughout his body. The red haired mechanic was very surprised he wasn't already unconscious, but then again, he could take a lot more damage than most people. Kid backed further into the alley as police cruisers sped by, sirens and lights flashing. One of them slowed near the alley, and Kid cursed and turned, hoping to slip out of sight.

Tonight just wasn't his night, and it was about to get worse, because while he wasn't going to end up in prison, he very well might have preferred it over what he got.

Before Kid could try and hide against a wall of the alley, someone came up from behind and seized him. Kid, still not out of fighting mode, tried to swing his fist at the person who'd jumped him. Kid ended up against the alley wall after trying and failing to land a hit, and it hurt a good deal more as he was being pinned by a firm grip. And there were only a few people who'd be coming down an alley after him in the dark that would dare to try and restrain him.

"Enough, Kid. No more fighting tonight."

It was Killer.

"And if you insist, I will be more than happy to knock you out and drag your unconscious body to the car." Killer's grip tightened when the other man tried to move. "Don't, Kid. You look like shit, and I'd rather not add to the list of injuries you've already accumulated tonight."

Kid let out a shaky breath, but it wasn't so easy to calm down after the way his night had gone thus far.

"You found him?"

"Yes."

Shit, the other voice was Zoro, meaning that the police car that had slowed down had to have been his. So much for Kid keeping his activities that night under wraps, but with his beat up appearance, there was no way Kid could hide what he had been up to anyway. And since he didn't want to be bitched at by Killer, he decided to not argue with his friend. He did feel like shit, and allowed the long haired blond to lead him in the direction of where the car was parked.

"You were in that building, weren't you?" Zoro asked once when Kid was close enough. "It sounds like there were some other guys who were not able to get out as quick as you did."

"Don't wanna talk about it." Kid muttered, and now that some of his adrenaline had worn off, he was exhausted. So much so that he didn't offer any resistance to being helped into the cop's car. Kid was, however, confused that Killer didn't get in the car with him.

"I'm going to have to look after the ship while you recover." Killer said, sensing the red head's confusion. "Try not to do anything stupid in the meantime."

Kid settled in the seat with a slow sigh as the door shut, not up to arguing. It seemed like he wouldn't be getting that lecture tonight after all, and that was a small mercy.

"Don't fall asleep." Zoro said from the front seat. "Talk."

Kid started, not having noticed that he had started to doze off, but he was not in any shape to be holding a coherent conversation. Especially not with a damn cop. His body ached all over, and being jostled in the car only reminded Kid of every nick and scratch and bruise he had taken in his matches that night.

"This had to do with those underground fighting arenas around the city."

It wasn't a question.

Kid grunted something in return, and that was it for any attempt at conversation for the remainder of the drive. The silence in the car was awkward at best, but what Kid hadn't been thinking about was that Law would see him in this state, and the red head only realized it when Zoro pulled into the driveway. Kid was unusually quiet as he waited for Zoro to open the door and help him out of the car. As much as Kid didn't want the assistance, he knew that he needed it, as now that the adrenaline was all but gone and with it came the wash of agony from all of the hits he had taken that night.

"I called ahead to let them know what happened." Zoro informed the red head as he unlocked the front door and shoved it open.

Kid raised his head, frowning, but allowed Zoro to help him through the door.

"What the hell happened to you, Eustass-ya?" Law was suddenly standing there wearing a harassed expression. "Why is it that every time I see you, you have accumulated new injuries?"

"Hello to you to, doc." Kid cringed inwardly at the disapproval in the doctor's golden eyes as he attempted a lame comeback. "I told you I'd be back."

Law gave Kid a dark, unamused look, before he seemed to start taking in the red head's appearance, and cataloging his possible injuries. Shaking his head, Law reached out with his left hand and rested it lightly on Kid's right forearm.

"Bathroom." Law said simply, as he wrapped his hand around the red head's forearm once he deduced there was no wound there. "Now."

Kid grumbled but a soon as Zoro let go of him, he did as Law asked, and allowed the dark haired doctor to lead him to the bathroom. Kid held still as soon as he sat down on the edge of the bathtub, figuring in his pain-addled mind that he ought to do as Law asked, so that the doctor would be in a better mood. Kid bit back the urge to tease the other man about treating him with only one functional arm.

"Need some help?" Zoro asked, standing in the doorway.

"If you must." Law said shortly, focused on the red head before him. "It will be rather difficult to treat injuries with only the use of one hand."

Kid frowned deeply when Zoro entered the bathroom and brushed by Law. As near as Law was to him, Kid could see a shiver go through the doctor's frame at the close proximity of the cop, but Zoro seemed to be oblivious to the effect he had. It seriously ticked Kid off, and since his temper was still simmering just beneath the surface, he got to his feet abruptly.

"Eustass-ya, sit back down." Law reached out and seized Kid's right forearm. "You are in poorer shape than you are letting on."

Kid silently put himself between Law and Zoro, and despite the dark haired man tugging on his arm, Kid let his gaze bore into Zoro's. Had he any strength left after standing back up, Kid might have been tempted to try and punch the cop. Instead, he remained standing, though not without his right knee shaking the longer he stood on it. But his feelings on the matter between Law and Zoro were incredibly hard to hide right now when he felt like crap.

"What is with the two of you? You're horrible about your wounds being treated." The dark haired doctor muttered under his breath crossly, unaware of the way Kid glowered at Zoro. "Especially when you don't realize how injured you really are. Why haven't you passed out yet?"

"M'fine." Kid grunted in response, his eyes still locked with Zoro's. He wasn't looking away. Not until he could figure out how to put into words that the cop needed to stop fucking touching Law, due to the way the doctor reacted to Zoro's touch. Kid wasn't sure what to make of the thoughtful look that crossed the cop's face. For some reason, that expression pissed Kid off even further.

"Well, if you're going to stand, then hold still." Law let go of Kid's forearm. "Zoro-ya, hand me those-"

"I can take it from here, Law." Zoro said, cutting Law off. The green haired officer stepped toward Kid, and actually forcefully moved him to one side to create a path to the door. "You should rest, Law. You've been on your feet all day."

"Zoro-ya…" Law looked very much like he wanted to protest as he walked straight over to the other man. "I can…"

"Law." A single word, and a single touch to the shoulder were all Zoro needed to end any of the doctor's protests.

Law instantly caved in at that touch, and he left the bathroom without another word.

That rubbed Kid the wrong way. It was wrong for someone to still be so attached to an ex. For someone to be so…so…Kid scowled. Son of a _bitch_ , how in the hell did the cop not-

"Stop making that face." Zoro commented as he set out the medical supplies. "You don't have to worry so much."

"Worry about what?" Kid snapped peevishly. The red head let out an undignified yelp when Zoro pressed a damp washcloth against his left arm, obviously noticing that Kid was favoring it. "Shit, what the hell?'

"Law and I aren't together anymore." Zoro said simply.

"Dunno what yer getting at." Kid grumbled as he wiped the washcloth over some dried blood, grimacing when it revealed scratches. But even as shitty and knocked around as he was the red haired mechanic damn well knew exactly what the cop was getting at.

"There isn't anything between us anymore." Zoro continued on, passing Kid some bandages. "It's just been hard for him to move on." Zoro pivoted Kid around, frowned at the way the other man held himself and said. "Shirt off."

Kid snorted something under his breath, but awkwardly removed the article of clothing. Frowning at it, the red head wadded it up and tossed it to one side. He hissed in surprise when Zoro swiped some disinfectant across a gash.

"He is interested, you know. I can tell." Zoro swiped the disinfectant over another wound to silence Kid. "Law has trouble opening up to people, and he has an even harder time letting go of the past."

"No shit." Kid groused, determined to get a word in. He half turned to face Zoro, even though it gave him a brief moment of vertigo. "Haven't you noticed the way he acts around you?" Kid cussed again when Zoro found a sore spot on his shoulder. The red head held his silence in order to wrap some bandages around his wrists and hands after cleaning them, as Zoro moved on to another one of his wounds.

"I have noticed. I know it is part of the reason why he wanted to keep his distance from me after we went our separate ways." Zoro shook his head. "I'm sure Law knows that he has to let go of me, but-"

Kid felt the room shift, so he ended up missing the last bit that Zoro had said to him. In fact, Kid was having a bit of difficulty hearing now. Kid reached out and managed to rest a hand against a wall, blinking at the floor of the bathroom.

"Damn. I was wondering if you hit your head."

Huh. Kid didn't exactly think the cop swearing was a good thing, but he did let out a hoarse laugh.

"Got kicked…in head." Kid managed, and didn't really understand why Zoro had urged him out of the bathroom and into what appeared to be the living room. Time seemed to jump forward, because one moment, Kid was standing, and the next, he was propped up on the couch.

Law was also suddenly very close to him.

Kid was a bit confused as to why the dark haired doctor had his left hand on his cheek. Kid didn't mind the way that Law was staring at him right now. It was better than the look of disapproval from earlier.

"Can you hear me now, Eustass-ya?"

"Hey, doc." Kid slurred, and that didn't seem exactly right, but it did earn him a faint, if strained, smile.

"I suppose that that will have to do." Law furrowed his brow. "You should have mentioned you took a hit to the head sooner. How were you even able to function for so long?"

What Law was saying to Kid right now wasn't nearly as important as the fact that the doctor's mouth was close enough to stare at and watch move.

"Are you even listening to me?" Law asked with an exasperated huff.

Kid blinked owlishly at Law, before the red haired mechanic had the brilliant idea that he ought to kiss Law. He really should thank the doctor in some way, for dealing with his ass getting kicked around again. A kiss seemed like a good thank you, seeing as Law was so close to him already.

"Eustass-ya." Law said sharply, fingers lightly tapping Kid's cheek before he dropped them and reached for the red head's shoulder. "Where do you feel pain?"

"I like your eyes, doc." Kid said seriously, reaching up with bandaged hands to cup Law's cheeks. "They're pretty." Kid grinned lopsidedly at the sight of the faint flush that rose on the other man's cheeks. Since he didn't feel any resistance, Kid urged Law closer for a kiss that lingered on a bit longer than he meant it to, as Law parted his lips to allow him to deepen the kiss. It was nothing like the way Law had forced him to take the medicine, and nothing like the brief kiss Kid had given Law when the other man had been asleep. Kid drew back and absently ran his thumbs over Law's cheeks, amused with the way the doctor's lips were still parted, breathing hard like he hadn't expected Kid to do that.

"Enough of that for now. Let Law take a look at your head."

Kid felt someone other than Law try to move his hands away. Kid allowed it, but didn't let the doctor slip away from him that easily. Instead, once Kid was free of the other person's hands, the red head reached out and pulled Law onto his lap so that he could childishly cling to him with arms wrapped around the other man. In the back of his mind, Kid hoped he hadn't jostled the doctor's mending arm. Kid could have sworn he heard some laughter overhead, but he was more distracted by the way that Law's uninjured hand had freed itself from Kid's hold to hesitantly thread through his hair.

"Eustass-ya?"

Kid quite enjoyed how breathless Law sounded. It was nice. Kid made some nonsensical sound, and settled Law comfortably against his chest. "Don't go anywhere." Kid mumbled against the side of the other man's neck.

"You need to let me take a look at your head, Kid."

"Won't throw up on you." Kid assured the dark haired doctor, though there was no reason to suspect that he would. "Don't wanna mess up yer looks." Just as he was about to doze off with an actual live and breathing body pillow, Kid heard Law speak again.

"You may as well get some rest, though if you fall asleep, I'll have to keep waking you up."

"Concussion?" Kid wouldn't be surprised.

"Entirely possible."

"Don't wanna fall asleep." Kid mumbled drowsily in return.

"I'll still be here." The doctor's voice was soft and barely audible as his hand ran through Kid's hair reassuringly. "Just wake up soon."

It amazed Kid how Law's words in that moment could contain so many different emotions.

Amusement, disbelief, exasperation, worry and hope.

It was a good thing that Kid passed out, because he wasn't very good at dealing with emotions. On the other hand, Kid had no idea that he had given Law quite a lot to contemplate while he was unconscious.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: And one more chapter while I'm still feeling motivated but hey, I got up 3 chapters up within a few days, so yay.

And no, Kid doesn't lose an arm. Yet. It'll be awhile before that happens. So as you can probably guess, the idea of a 15 chapter fic is going out the window. This is probably going to be turning into a longer fic than first anticipated. As seems to be the case with a lot of fics I end up writing.


End file.
